News-Record.com

I want to thank the staff and maintenance crew of Gibson Park for their hard work and dedication to area residents, which they have clearly demonstrated in recent weeks.

Recent storms resulted in many fallen trees in the park, including along the Bicentennial Greenway, severely prohibiting the use of the trail. Since I actually use the Bicentennial Greenway to get to work with my bike, I was especially affected by this circumstance.

The park's crew got to work right away on the immense task of clearing dozens of trees from the greenway trail, and it was not long before the trail was reopened.

On behalf of everyone who employs the trail for recreation and even as a way for getting to work, thanks to the crew at Gibson Park for a job well done.

You are greatly appreciated.

Joe Eckstein
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint
By Colleen Pinyan

My family has had quite a different experience than Marie Beers (Letter, Aug. 28) with the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Library. No, this branch is not a traditional library with hushed voices and quiet rooms. However, that is not its function. The city built this branch as a family library, and when you consider its atmosphere in that context, the library and its staff are a success.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday, the library is bustling with preschoolers and their families. Moving a large number of preschoolers and their families in and out of the story time room is not always a quiet endeavor; however, the situation is not ''out of control.'' Once story time begins, the children pay close attention to the children's librarian, the wonderful Tammy Miller. She mesmerizes them with books, finger plays and stories on her story board.

Ms. Beers suggests limiting the story time to 20 children. That would exclude too many children. When I lived in Arlington, Va., the library limited the number of children and required preregistration months in advance. If a parent was not there when the registration opened, their child did not have a chance to participate in the story times. Often, those who needed the story time the most were left out. This library, however, goes to great lengths to include as many children as possible. The staff has scheduled additional times to accommodate as many children as want to come.

This branch also has programs for elementary students. Weekly, students come to hear stories, make crafts and have a snack. Most importantly, they are learning. Last week, for example, the library brought in an expert all the way from the Pine Knolls Aquarium for a sea turtle talk. Sometimes, the entire staff gets involved with these activities. For example, at the kick-off for the summer reading program, one librarian played island music. Other librarians served snacks, and still more assisted the kids with crafts.

People coming here expecting a traditional library model probably are disappointed. However, they should consider the benefits to the many kids who come. From the toddlers to the elementary students, the children at this library are taught to respect books and love reading. They come together to learn that reading can open doors in ways that no other media can do.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Guilford County students should not be subjected to the Taser method of inhumane treatment and discipline. If it takes this amount of force, then we have truly lost control of students in our schools. Shame on us.

Use of Tasers teaches handling problems with violence, not with natural and logical consequences. Time and money are better spent teaching the students nonviolence.

School is a microcosm of today's society. Here's a chance to teach earlier more appropriate ways to deal with decision-making. Hopefully, the school board will vote the officers out of middle schools at least.

As to the reports of firearms or weapons at schools, how do the students get them past the metal detectors? Then there's Anthony Scales, school safety coordinator, who says serious violence in schools is uncommon.

Finally, how do the resource officers from the High Point and Greensboro police departments work without Tasers?

Some students with ADHD or bi-polar disorder may be targets, not because of weapons, but because of impulsive behavior. They should not be subjected to inhuman Taser treatment.

Parents have been promised a list of guidelines. Let's see what Sheriff BJ Barnes considers OK. Feel strongly? Take advantage of Nov. 7 to vote.

Annie Oakley
Greensboro

My son Darrick will be 46 years old in October. I bring up this fact because when he was 5 years old, he was not allowed to attend school that year because he would not turn 6 by Oct. 16. Even though his sixth birthday was only nine days after that cutoff, on Oct. 25, he had to wait an entire year to enter first grade because of this ridiculous, antiquated law.

The opportunity to abolish this law and implement a new and more sensible date was shot down recently. Will somebody please tell me why North Carolina can't adopt a simpler and more reasonable policy that says students must be 5 years old by the end of the calendar year to enroll?

Another matter that bothers me is that the first day of school this year was Friday, Aug. 25. Why? Solve the problem and start school the first Tuesday after Labor Day. That's reality.

Shirley J. Wright
Greensboro

Every year near the start of school, we hear the same things: The school system is not ready; students will be crowded in classrooms, buses, cafeterias, fill in the blank.

As a parent and teacher, I am outraged that our students are expected to cope with these situations. No one would tolerate this in their workplace. A manager would not hire more people than he or she has desks or work stations to accommodate, so why should students be forced to attend classes in an auditorium, hallway or cafeteria?

System administrators complain that there is no money for supplies, then in the next TV news piece you hear of teachers buying materials for the instruction of their students. In what other profession is one expected to do so? How can we continue to let this go on?

We wonder why our schools are failing, why the test scores are not being met. Students cannot learn in crowded classrooms, without instructional materials, or with stressed-out teachers. Our county officials need to spend a day or week or month in our shoes, in the place of a professional educator. Deal with these issues head-on day to day and then tell me there is no money.

Michelle Davis
Greensboro

OK, let me get this straight. The taxpaying citizens are supposed to be happy and relieved that the Greensboro Coliseum lost a mere $1.3 million this past fiscal year ("Coliseum deficit less than expected," Aug. 30). And that's because it lost $500,000 less than 2005.

Director Matt Brown is quoted as saying, "We're pretty thrilled."
Folks, losses are losses. If this were a private company, it would likely have filed for bankruptcy. And now we are talking about a bond referendum (aka tax increase) to fund renovations to War Memorial Auditorium.

When will the City Council wake up and figure out a way either to make the coliseum a break-even venture or shut it down?
Oops. Then we wouldn't have a place to host the ACC Tournament.
Let's keep it open after all and wait for the tax increases to fund the annual losses. I bet Mr. Brown gets a hefty bonus this year for his ability to lose less money than last.

Donald Shaw
High Point

We all have been touched and felt the pain of so many people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

It has produced one of the greatest outpourings of help and prayers ever experienced in this country. So many people have given time, money and even their homes to help the many survivors of this major catastrophe.

But this hurricane, one of the greatest disasters this country has ever seen, has brought to light a very distressing situation that always has been present.

This catastrophe has made the underbelly come to the surface — an underbelly that has been known to the government but hidden for many years. This atrocity is what we call poverty.

This president (Bush) has been a cancerous tumor to the plight of the poor and underprivileged. A major example of this is the government's slow response time and its ignoring of warning signs about Katrina.
Another example is his tax cuts for the greedy and for big businesses.

Gregory Bryant
Greensboro

Once again I read that a death has been caused by speeding teenage drivers.

I used to drive a school bus in South Carolina when all bus drivers were selected from high schools. The answer then for keeping drivers at legal speeds was that each bus had a governor installed on it that did not allow the driver to exceed a certain speed.

Why can't North Carolina require that all cars driven by teens have governors on them that are set at 55 or 60 mph? If the car the teen drives is shared by the family it would still need a governor.
Driving is a privilege, not a right. If parents are inconvenienced, then that's the price and responsibility we pay as parents.

Better to save a life than worry about whether teens are unhappy.
Many people would try to circumvent this law or in some way disable the governor. That is why fines should be very steep and drivers' licenses should be revoked for any teen who is found without the governor or who is found to have altered it.

Phyllis Lambeth
Greensboro

Regarding the College Hill Neighborhood Association wanting to ban HEAT buses for commuting college students from their neighborhoods:

Ban the buses because the streets are too narrow? Better ban those big ol' garbage trucks, too.

Betty Hobbs
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column.

By Jack Glenn

Your Aug. 27 editorial on local dental programs reports "an estimated 66,000 Guilford County residents have no dental insurance."
You imply that it is a given that everyone should have it.

Insurance should protect us from ruinous, unusual expenses. Purchase dental insurance to insure against huge dental catastrophes, not to prepay dental visits. Pay market rates for the occasional dental office checkup because it is ordinary and noncalamitous.

True dental insurance should protect from outsized bills and should be inexpensive because dentists rarely inflict huge surgery bills on patients.

Should a $1,500 dental bill be insurable? Only as much as there should be insurance against $1,500 auto repair bills, but let us not give anyone ideas.

On the other hand I personally seek health insurance to cover staggering medical bills. I prefer to pay $100 or so for important visits to a doctor, equating that expense with a nice dinner. A doctor visit is more important than a fine meal. A $15 co-pay prices its importance the same as two tickets to a bad movie. My health is worth more than that.

We should be sympathetic to the plight of the poor. Evidently something has been done to aid poorer county residents, but, surprise, money is running out. Money runs out when you give it away. Free dental work is a good deal for the patient and an open-ended disaster for the taxpayer.

In the short run perhaps charities may step in to plug gaps. In the long run we need to return dental and more importantly, medical expenses, to the laps of those who need the services — individuals.
We had a market-based system at one time and it worked with fewer complaints and worry and less paperwork than now. The more we institutionalize health care and look for someone else to solve its cost overruns the worse it gets.

Years ago people feared rescinding fixed energy prices, but price controls died, and market forces stabilized prices. Even today with terror-based premiums in its pricing, energy remains a pretty good deal — and if not cheap, it still is plentiful.

I see why the county commissioners cut the funds flow. Perhaps other organizations can take up the slack. In the long run we citizens should tackle our own costs of dental care and contribute to charities that look after those who may need help.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Congratulations are in order for Superintendent Terry Grier and the Guilford County Board of Education for looking at small-school options as a way of improving retention and test scores.

There is a considerable amount of research and anecdotal evidence to suggest this approach will yield substantial benefits.

At the same time, I call into question the theatrical and incendiary rhetoric of Judge Howard Manning Jr., who accuses schools of committing "academic genocide." Does the judge really think schools are in the business of killing their students? If he were to slip out of his ceremonial robes, doff his powdered wig and venture into schools to see the business they're really about, he would discover that not only are students being educated, they are being fed and made to feel safe and secure.

Until well-intentioned, influential people like Judge Manning come to grips with the underlying systemic poverty and racism that are so counterproductive to learning, the education of a great many of our students is going to be profoundly difficult.

Michael Roskelly
Greensboro

Recently we held our 40th Grimsley High School class reunion at the Kress Terrace downtown.

We could not have been more pleased with this decision. Many of my classmates had not been back to town since graduation and this was a good spot to show off the growth of downtown Greensboro and the overall change of mood of the city.

We had people in from California, New York, Miami and other spots throughout the United States. The reunion was held on a Saturday night, which, as we all know, is a busy time downtown.

Yet I was shocked and disappointed in what I saw when I left the Kress Terrace and by the reports that I got from classmates with regard to their experiences on the streets of downtown. It is clear from the conduct of many of the people on the street that the animals have taken over the zoo. If Greensboro doesn't get control of this, it won't be long before the zoo will have to close and there will be nothing left but the trash the animals have left behind.

Marty Friedman
Greensboro

I have a concern for the citizens who need to use the SCAT service. This is a very good resource for people who have no other means of travel to necessary appointments. I'm sure the city has done a thorough analysis of the cost and has data to back up its reasoning.

But I think we should also put the cost to the citizens into the equation. I realize cost has risen due to gasoline, etc., but shame on you for recouping losses from the less fortunate.

Betty Trogdon
Greensboro

Racism is a danger that has plagued America throughout its existence. And now CBS is promoting "War of the Races" on "Survivor"! This has to be the most hateful and evil act by a television network. This is not acceptable in our society today.

Racism is defined as the act of separating groups according to racial categories, which is exactly what CBS is promoting. How dare they?
What were the producers thinking? What if there are serious consequences? It would give me nothing but pleasure if their sponsors backed out. I certainly will not be patronizing CBS and its sponsors.

Nothing is more dangerous than a big idea in a small mind.

Lynne Parr
Greensboro

With school having recently started back, I just wanted to remind all students, staff, parents and visitors that all Guilford County Schools are 100 percent tobacco-free.

The policy says that no tobacco products are allowed on school grounds or at any school-sponsored events at any time. This policy covers all sporting events, including football, and affects parents when they are picking up their children. This policy helps protect us from exposure to secondhand smoke and keeps the school grounds clean.

If you are a smoker and would like help quitting, please call North Carolina's free smoking-cessation "Quit Line" at 1-800-QUITNOW.
Thank you for supporting and following the policy.

Megan Spofford
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Southeast Guilford High School.

I am honored to represent the 12th Congressional District as an American Cancer Society Celebration ambassador at the Celebration on the Hill, Sept. 19 and 20 in Washington.

Imagine a relay consisting of 10,000 ambassadors from all over the country, including survivors, caregivers and volunteers; 4,500 HOPE banners and thousands of luminaria bags surrounding the reflecting pool at the steps of the Capitol — all this to make Congress aware that America is serious about eliminating cancer.

Our goal will be to meet with Congressman Watt and Sens. Burr and Dole, to ask for their support of legislative efforts to put the fight against cancer back on track. Referred to as the 2015 Congressional Cancer Promise, we are asking for their long-term commitment in the fight against cancer. Specifically, we will be asking Congress to fully fund the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program and to increase funding for the National Cancer Institute.

I am a cancer survivor, and my father is battling this horrible disease as well. He inspires me to increase my efforts in the fight against cancer so my children and grandchildren will not have to be concerned with this deadly disease.

Holly M. Haynes
Winston-Salem

Christopher Tew's Aug. 25 Counterpoint requires immediate comment. I take personal offense at his assertion that Holocaust deniers are like believers in creation. A large number of my father's family died in the prison camps, and I am a creationist.

Tew's attempt to show that creation is based on bad science but evolution is based on good science is absurd. The history of "proving" evolution is fraught with lies, fraud, charlatans and bad science. Here are several of the hundreds of examples:

The peppered moth as an example of evolution is completely fraudulent, and the pictures of the moths in the texts are dead moths glued on the trees.

The pictures of embryonic recapitulation (evolution rehearsed in the development of the fetus) that still appear in textbooks have been known to be false for more than 100 years.

In the history of the ape-man connection, we have: Nebraska Man (a pig's tooth), Piltdown Man (an intentional fraud), Java Man (conveniently lost fossils).

Finally, National Geographic published a fake fossil to show the dinosaur-bird connection.

Evolution is based on greater and more lies than creation. Make sure your own house is clean before you attack someone else because theirs is dirty.

Charlie Liebert
Greensboro

I had the privilege and pleasure of working with Superior Court Judge Stuart Albright during his six-month assignment in Randolph County from January until June. I would have to say he is one of the best Superior Court judges I have ever had the pleasure of working with during my 26 years in law enforcement. He is always at work early, ready to start on time, and willing to work all day, every day.

Judge Albright was district attorney for Guilford County for about five years before becoming a Superior Court judge. He has prosecuted thousands of cases and believes in justice for the citizens, as well as law enforcement. I had the opportunity to observe several cases in which defendants violated their probation, and Judge Albright activated their sentences immediately. I really did appreciate that. The community correction officers also were appreciative.

I'm respectfully asking all the citizens of Guilford County to support Judge Stuart Albright by voting for him this November. He will work to dispense justice fairly for the citizens of our state.

Tim Hussey
Asheboro

The writer is head of security, Randolph County Sheriff's Office,
Courthouse Division

I am the mother of a young adult who was murdered in Greensboro in 2001 on her baby son's birthday. Her name was April Jones.

Although she lived on the streets in your fair city, she was on her way back home to her family when she was so brutally murdered. It is still quite hard for us to deal with, since her son's birthday is a constant reminder of when and how she died.

I would hope she has not been forgotten by your city. She hasn't been forgotten by her family. Her oldest son still is having a very hard time dealing with this.

Is there any way that I could contact someone to find out what is going on with this case, or has it been dropped and forgotten because she was not one of your more prominent citizens?

She did have a family and children who loved her very much.

Floria Clark
Asheville

The writer is the mother of April Jones, who was murdered on Nov. 29, 2001, and whose body was found in a Dumpster. Staff writer Nancy McLaughlin chronicled Jones's life and death in a News & Record story.

In arguing that "Israel has the right to defend itself," Rabbi Fred Guttman (Aug. 17 Second Opinion column, not posted) managed to duck the really troubling issue around Israel's recent attacks on Lebanon, which killed hundreds of innocent people and destroyed a significant fraction of the country's infrastructure.

Was that action appropriate?

In framing the issue in terms of a country's "right" to self defense, Guttman is assured of occupying the argumentative high ground. To be sure, he appropriately criticizes Israel's implacable enemies.

Noteworthy, however, is the fact that nowhere in his article did he attempt to defend the specific actions that Israel took against the Lebanese. Does he really believe that those acts were defensible?

We urge Rabbi Guttman to ponder an important moral precept: It isn't always right to do what you think you have a right to do.

Kenneth L. Caneva
Jane E. Sugarman
Greensboro

It used to be that all you worried about as a parent when you sent your child to school was a fire. Nowadays, our children practice fire drills regularly and we haven't heard of a fire in a school in a long time.

Unfortunately, we have heard a great deal more about violence in the schools. The Columbine incident brought concerns about school violence to a new level.

School resource officers must face unique issues on a daily basis. Since when is it OK for us as citizens to tell police officers what is appropriate gear for them to carry? (Do we tell our dentists what equipment they need or how to do their job?)

Tasers provide officers with yet another force option when faced with an unruly student or, worse, an armed student. First and foremost, all officers try to defuse situations verbally.

When that doesn't work, Tasers give them another option before they must resort to deadly force. Tasers cause momentary discomfort; bullets cause death.

SROs and all police officers need to carry Tasers as they attempt to do the tasks set before them each day. They need our support, not our criticism!

B. L. Woltz
Greensboro

To mark the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush headed south to put on a show and convince people that New Orleans is on its way back.

In reality, New Orleans is being left to rot. By not rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward or Saint Bernard Parish, by not providing electricity (only 60 percent have power) and by making it difficult for black homeowners to reclaim their land, President Bush is making Louisiana a whiter, richer Republican state.

The fifth anniversary of 9/11 is also approaching.

Recently, President Bush was asked what 9/11 has to do with Iraq. "Nothing!" he shot back.

In other words, soldiers who went to Iraq believing they were defending America against the perpetrators of 9/11 have died in vain. And will continue to.

The involuntary call-up of reservists sounds suspiciously like a draft, and there is no plan to redeploy troops out of Iraq.

President Bush has lost the World Trade Center and the people who died on 9/11, allowed the perpetrators of that attack to go free, started a war based on lies, allowed more than 2,500 Americans to die for those lies, and lost an American city. What's next?

Jo Boykin
Greensboro

As a mother of three school-age daughters, the recent start of school has me thinking of the educational opportunities available to children in other parts of the world and, in particular, to the girls of Afghanistan.

Fewer than half of Afghanistan's girls attend school. Those who are able to attend are threatened by the Taliban's efforts to prevent the education of girls.

Human Rights Watch has reported the murders of teachers and attacks on students. The Taliban has burned schools and threatened others with letters delivered in the night.

If girls cannot go to school in some parts of the world, we have a very long way to go to achieve equality for women. We are so lucky in this country to have a public education system that includes all children.

We should not take it for granted.

Margaret Rowlett
Greensboro

Special to the News & Record

Anna Gilbert, the daughter of letter writer Margaret Rowlett, heads to school on her first day of third grade recently. In some parts of the world, girls cannot go to school.

Because they were routed to the wrong cue, the Satuday, Sept. 2, letters were not posted on this blog for comment. They are available now.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Regarding the story, "City leaves officer with bill for sick dog" (Aug. 31):

I think the chain of events in this case tells you a lot about the mentality of the current Greensboro police chief.

Since Interim Chief Tim Bellamy seems so focused on saving money, maybe the police department could save further money by firing senior officers and replacing them with younger ones who will work for lower pay.

After all, the senior ones are getting near the end of their usefulness, correct?

I think someone should look into whether or not the Greensboro Police Department should even have canines if this is the way they treat the dogs and the dogs' handlers. If the dog gets a serious illness, too bad, they're on their own.

Do they make officers pay for patrol car repairs?

Shame on you, Chief Bellamy, and shame on Greensboro.

Thanks to the News & Record for bringing this issue to the public's attention.

Jay Waller
High Point

After reading the article, "City leaves officer with bill for sick dog," I am outraged at the Greensboro Police Department's refusal to pay the vet bill for Zeus.

The dog's record is outstanding and speaks for itself. He recovered $1.3 million in cash seizures from illegal drug activity, but the department cannot pay a $1,100 vet bill. There is something wrong with this picture.

Interim Chief Tim Bellamy states it was a matter of economics. I am not sure which school of economics he attended.

I would like to point out every K-9 dog wears a badge as every officer does and both of their lives are on the line every day.
Let's hope future police dogs get more respect than Zeus did.

Richard Peeples
McLeansville

With regard to the story about Zeus, the drug-sniffing K-9 whose diagnostic testing for cancer was not covered by the city and had to be covered by his handler:

Some inconsistencies need to be explained. If the city and Chief Tim Bellamy's decision not to cover this cost was simply a matter of economics, why are so many Greensboro police officers riding around in large SUVs, which have higher fuel costs and are more prone to rolling over during pursuits?

This implies that the city uses more factors than monetary ones when making decisions, which should be applied not only to vehicle type but also to their K-9s.

Phil Valla
Greensboro

Twenty years ago, one rarely saw anyone jogging or biking in Greensboro. That lack of activity has contributed to today's health crisis ("Coalition pushes state to slim down," Aug. 30).

Our area's current statistics for fat adults would have applied to many of my fellow employees, all highly educated, back in the 1990s. To top that, the state's health plan -- like most plans -- offered no incentives for individuals to shape up.

By contrast, it was possible (and still is today) to get big rewards (through low-interest loans, price reductions and tax breaks) to buy monster trucks and SUVs, possibly the only vehicles capable of hauling excess American blubber.

"Sin" taxes on yachts, booze and tobacco exist because we draw a line on voluntary behavior.

Maybe fast-food prices should be calculated based on their measurable effects on community health. Maybe parking space charges should be calculated by square footage.

Whatever one says about an individual's rights in America to choose an unhealthy (or stupid) lifestyle, the consequences are not covered by the individual but by the community. In the case of health care, the consequences have been devastating to everyone, especially those with genuine needs.

Andrew Young
Greensboro

My late wife and I enjoyed many trips to Las Vegas. Those glitzy pleasure palaces did not rise from the desert by losing money, but they provided her many happy hours coaxing coins into slot machine trays, and thrilled her when she won numerous amounts up to $1,600 (I played blackjack).

So I am not opposed to gambling. However, the lottery does not fit my definition of gambling: a game of chance with reasonable odds.

The odds of winning the big one in the lottery are about the same as a piece of an airplane falling off and hitting you on the head. And what would one person do with all that money, except pay taxes and fend off suppliants? Those millions could better be split among many people.

Our lottery was established to provide funds for education, a noble cause. Less noble is seducing people to risk for a daydream (they are not thinking education), money that many can ill afford. There are better ways to gamble.

Provide funds for education by increasing taxes on gasoline or tobacco or whatever? Horrors!

Promoting a voluntary tax on irrational optimism? Just the ticket!

Dan W. Maddox
Greensboro

I believe Mr. Moschetti (letter, "Democrats too soft on worldwide terrorism," Aug. 26) could use a refresher course in the way our founding fathers intended for the U.S. government to work.

We have three branches of government: the legislative, judicial and executive. The legislative branch makes the laws, the judicial branch interprets them, and the executive branch enforces them.

Warrantless searches bypass two of those three branches. I cannot speak for all Democrats, but I am happy and grateful to have terrorist activity monitored and prevented. However, the law is clear about the necessity to procure a warrant and have a judge deem the warrant should be issued.

Is the Bush administration saying it knows what is better for the United States than the other two branches of the government?

I also take umbrage at Mr. Moschetti's statement that Democrats believe "that Bush, not the terrorists, is responsible for terrorism." As a third-generation Democrat, I have not heard a single person express such lunacy -- only Mr. Moschetti.

Terrorists are responsible for terrorism. The current administration is exacerbating this problem by cutting the rest of our government out of the solution and using the term "national security" to cover up mistakes and protect opportunists.

Elaine Simmons
Greensboro

A teacher at Hairston Middle School said in a News & Record story she had rather teach her kids about nonviolence. That’s good.

But how about the kid with the gun?

Evidently he hasn’t learned how to settle his differences nonviolently. How are you going to protect all the other children?
While you are teaching them about nonviolence, also teach them respect -- respect for their peers, their teachers and all who are in authority over them. Then you won’t have to worry about them being Tasered.

If parents and members of the school board would spend a little time in the classroom, they would see why stun guns are recommended. It is better to be shot with a stun gun than by a gun with real bullets.

R.P. Jessup
Greensboro

Writer Melissa Reed, director of NARAL, an abortion organization (letter, "Focus state efforts on pregnancy prevention," Aug. 29), counsels us from Raleigh not to listen to medical and moral opinions expressed in the News & Record on the subject of abortion.

Interesting that this abortion group could not find someone local to respond to columnist Joe Guarino’s opinion. What does it tell us?

Reed quotes from her group’s bible that abortion needs to be available at any time, anywhere, under any condition. She attempts to mislead those way out in the rural areas of North Carolina (her words, not mine) that abortion is the answer to all the world’s problems. This would be laughable except for the seriousness of the matter.

Promoting abortion through dishonest means is typical of the abortion movement, but the people of the country have seen through that dishonesty and are reacting against it. Reed and her group need to refocus their efforts to educate and assist our young people on the facts of life, not NARAL’s propaganda.

Don Mulligan
High Point

According to Carl Sandburg’s "History of the Civil War," when that war broke out, President Lincoln took on the powers of a dictator.

He organized a raid by the U.S. marshals on telegraph offices and had copies made of all messages from the last 12 months.

He took millions of dollars out of the Treasury Department without the required authority from Congress.

Lincoln had the flour mill in Georgetown seized and confiscated the flour supply for use by the troops.

Lincoln had to move fast. Washington was surrounded by slave states.

Today, the civil liberties advocates and others against President Bush feel that wiretapping is illegal.

Luckily, the British don’t feel that way. They were able to intercept messages from their own Muslim citizens and foiled a plot to blow up airplanes over the Atlantic.

Because the British intelligence can work without the restrictions we have, many lives were saved.

Middy Anderson
Greensboro

Charles Davenport's recent column on the death penalty, along with rebuttal letters, miss a major point: the cost of incarceration.
As of Dec. 31, 2004, there were 3,282 prisoners on death rows in state prisons.

The state of Florida Web site reveals the cost to keep one death row inmate to be approximately $80 per day (our daughter's murderer resides on death row in Starke, Fla.). If you multiply the daily cost by 365 days, it becomes more than $30,000 per year. If you multiply that by the 3,282 prisoners sentenced to die nationwide, the expense to U.S. taxpayers becomes nearly $100 million per year.

How long can we afford this nonessential expense? Keep in mind that this amount will grow if the death penalty is outlawed.
At some point, rational thinking must prevail.

Thomas Morris
Whitsett

Regarding the recent announcement that the Marine Corps will begin calling up troops from its Individual Ready Reserve to fill a manpower need:

This appears to be yet another underhanded trick on our volunteers who bravely go to protect our country.

This administration first lied us into the war in Iraq.

Now it dishonors these troops through this back-door draft.

Robert Peer Jr.
Greensboro

It's time for a change of leadership in Guilford County politics.
Current leaders lack vision for all residents. Their special-interest needs are all they seem to care about, forgetting the majority of voters who are affected by their pet projects that raise our taxes.
The solution is to elect someone who will truly represent citizens without prejudice.

Vernon Ward is the person we need and want to represent us.

I have known Vernon for more than 35 years. He is a proven leader respected by all. Having graduated from high school with Vernon and having been a volunteer at one time in the Pinecroft-Sedgefield Fire Department, I can tell you firsthand that Vernon Ward is dedicated to the task at hand. His leadership is unquestionable.

Having been a teammate of Vernon's on our high school football team, I witnessed his dedication and leadership ability.

I can honestly say I have never heard anyone say an ill word against Vernon. If you want someone with integrity, leadership skills and proven financial responsibility, you can trust Vernon Ward not to waste your tax dollars on pet projects and special-interest needs, as is happening with the current leadership.

Larry McCuiston
High Point

It appears to me that if anything does not go the way County Commissioner Skip Alston wants it, he'll bring up race, race, race, race.

The biggest problem with race is Alston and his cohorts on the Board of Commissioners, Bruce Davis and Carolyn Coleman.

Alston should look at the problem with an open mind. He should do what is best for Guilford County and forget he was ousted from the state NAACP presidency.

Alston should look at former County Manager Willie Best's record, not his color.

Ron Reed
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint

By Victor Ganim

Some statements made by Lillian Rauch (Counterpoint, Aug. 28) were untrue.

When Jews arrived in Palestine, the land was not arid, like she mentioned, but fertile with green pastures and beautiful orchards. Palestine had a thriving economy with a busy harbor.

Rauch failed to mention that Jewish terror groups such as the Irgun and Stern gangs, headed by Menachem Begin, had killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians. Deir Yassin Massacre was one example.

She stated that suicide bombers have killed hundreds of Jewish civilians but failed to mention the state terrorism that Israel has inflicted upon Palestinian and Lebanese civilians over the years by killing thousands, such as the last bombardment of Beirut. Let me add that I am against any killing of civilians.

And now for a bit of history:

For 100 years, Zionist Jews have been planning to occupy all of Palestine and in the process, to expel its inhabitants, who have been living there for thousands of years. They fabricated false slogans such as, ''A land without people for a people without land.''

They knew all along, as Theodor Herzl, the architect of Zionism, wrote, that the land of Palestine could be acquired only by armed conquest.

After the Palestinians were terrorized and forced to leave their homes, David Ben Gurion warned, ''We must do everything to insure they never do return.'' Ben Gurion predicted: ''The old will die and the young will forget.''

By May 14, 1948, Zionists had successfully expelled 800,000 Palestinians with their ruthless tactics. The results were best summed up by Moshe Dayan, a former Israeli defense minister, in a 1967 address to students at Technion, Haifa: ''There is not one single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.''

It is refreshing to see more Americans speaking out against Israeli actions that are always blessed by the U.S. government, right or wrong.

The only solution to the problem is for Israel to dismantle hundreds of settlements built on stolen Palestinian land, lift the fascist occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and let the two states live side by side with East Jerusalem as Palestine's capital.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

When prison inmate William Morva allegedly overpowered a sheriff's deputy and fatally shot a hospital security guard and another officer, the incident sent a wave of concern through Blacksburg, Va.
How can we help but be impressed with everybody's sympathy and the efforts to remedy this tragic event?

Why, then, doesn't somebody wake up and prevent juvenile prisons from being established in the bedroom community of Sandy Ridge to avoid a repeat of this tragedy right here in our county?

With River Landing retirement community (the jewel of Guilford County) within less than a mile of the proposed prison's front gate, it would seem that we, like Blacksburg, are setting ourselves up for a repeat performance of such an escape.

The prison project at Sandy Ridge is a prime example of the poor judgment of government as shown by the handling of dangerous criminals in dense population zones.

Please, won't someone with the right connections step forward to send the correction department back to areas where they already have land and where fewer people are affected? Help!

Larry E. Rayle Sr.
Greensboro

At the start of the war in Iraq, Gen. Tommy Franks responded to a query regarding civilian casualties with this troubling quote: "We don't do body counts."

Well, apparently he misspoke. The Pentagon is keeping track, issuing a report on Aug. 29 that Iraqi civilian casualties rose 51 percent in the past couple of months. The Iraq Body Count Project reports a minimum of 41,000 noncombatant casualties in Iraq since the onset of "Operation Enduring Freedom." A minimum of 41,000? (Remember, we lost approximately 58,000 Americans in Vietnam.)

Iraqis are dying primarily because we are in Iraq. But we won't leave Iraq until people stop dying. Oh, those annoying bodies. Remember "Catch-22"? In his remarkable book, Joe Heller reminds us that it is no trick at all to turn "brutality into patriotism and sadism into justice," or we might add, dead bodies into collateral damage. No trick at all.

Steve Kroll-Smith
Greensboro

I recently read about the Guilford County Animal Shelter and it is unbelievable. Rescue groups and I work with 75 percent of them, ease shelter costs and burdens. We offer a sick animal, that otherwise would be put to sleep, a chance to make it and find a family of its own.

I once had someone contact me from Boone to meet me in Winston-Salem to pick up a dog to foster. I had that dog for two weeks. It was evaluated, brought up to weight and adopted. Can the shelter do this? Yes, with the cute puppies and the small dogs, while others are passed by then forgotten. That is where rescues could help.
One solution for an animal found roaming at will is to place an ID chip in it, then sterilize it before returning it to the owner. No adopted animal can leave the shelter without being altered, so why allow stray pets to be returned unaltered? This is an area where the shelter could recoup monies lost when offering rescue organizations to take the animals easing their burden.

Fran McAllister
High Point

As a citizen of what used to be a democratic society in America, I demand that action be taken to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney without delay.

Neither of these men deserves the trust or respect of the American people. They have undermined America and lied and deceived the country to a point of complete ruin. I am fed up with the political agenda of the Bush administration and its total abuse of power entrusted by the people of America.

I urge Congress to act while there is still an America to save.

Kenneth Bravehawk
Browns Summit

With the mass media and the Bush administration now framing all those people in opposition to their policies as fascists or fascist-sympathizers, I thought it might be appropriate to present the public with a definition of the word from my 1969 American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

The first definition listed for fascism: "a philosophy or system of government that advocates or exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business interests, together with an ideology of belligerent nationalism." Does this sound familiar?

If it does not sound familiar, consider the possibility that you are confused.

Jim Roeder
Kernersville

The following is a Counterpoint column.

By Addison Ore

Jack Glenn's Counterpoint, "Dental clinic a toothache for taxpayers," (Sept. 2) sheds light on the disturbing ideology that charities should pick up the slack when it comes to helping citizens in need.
While stating, "We should be sympathetic to the plight of the poor," Glenn also believes that we need to "return dental and more importantly, medical expenses, to the laps of those who need the services — individuals."

Dumping dental and medical expenses into laps of the poor is neither a practical nor moral solution.

As the executive director of Triad Health Project (THP), Guilford County's largest provider of HIV/AIDS services, I see people every day who rely on my agency for the support services that they need to survive in their fight against HIV/AIDS.

THP currently serves about 600 clients in Guilford County. More than 90 percent of the people that come through our doors are poor, living below the federal poverty level.

Most don't have private insurance and only about 30 percent qualify for Medicaid.

To most of our clients, dental care is simply not an option. They don't have the means to set aside $100 or so for visits to a doctor, an expense Glenn equates with a "nice dinner." In fact, for some THP clients, $100 is their food budget for an entire month.
THP receives about 10 percent of our current operating budget each year from Guilford County to provide direct client services to our citizens living with HIV/AIDS. While we are profoundly grateful for this support, this figure doesn't come remotely close to covering the range of services we are contracted to provide, including assisting clients with access to medical care, housing opportunities, and linkage to other community resources.

As local, state and federal funding for many essential social services remains flat at best, nonprofits are stretched to the brink to raise more funds internally just to make ends meet. Nonprofits can't realistically be called upon to plug "gaps" such as providing dental care for uninsured residents.

We are blessed to live in a very generous and caring community but private dollars can't keep pace with the needs of the poor.

The debate of private initiative versus public responsibility may never be resolved but let's do a quick reality check and agree that helping the poor takes a lot more than charity.

The writer is executive director, Triad Health Project.

I just read the article by Jack Glenn ("Dental clinic a toothache for taxpayers," Counterpoint, Sept. 2).

Glenn is right up to a point that everyone should be responsible for their health coverage, but has he had to pay out of pocket to have a root canal done?

Since I am retired, I pay for my own health insurance via United Healthcare, which does not cover dental in the state of North Carolina. I then applied to AARP, which has dental insurance, and guess what? They do not cover dental in North Carolina.
When you live on Social Security and have to still pay North Carolina and government taxes, plus your own medical insurance, it gets a little tight.

I worked all my life and worked until retirement age (I would have worked longer, but my job went to Mexico), and I have never asked for public assistance. But I would like Glenn to look on this side of the situation. It cost me $100 to have my regular dentist send me to the specialist who charged me $900 for the root canal.

Joan Helsens
Jamestown

At a gospel singing recently, the music was so loud it drowned out the words of the songs, and we were sitting near the back. One lady was holding her ears. Three or four others left soon after it began. Those hard of hearing, teenagers, or those on stage behind the speakers might not have been affected as much.

The latest amplifiers are more powerful than they were 20 or 30 years ago. Just because they have the power doesn't mean they have to use it. In a small church, it seems even louder. If people's ears are hurting, and it quenches the Holy Spirit, isn't that defeating the purpose?

Possibly the singers are hoping it will make people enjoy it more, but if people start leaving, shouldn't they wonder why, or at least ask is it too loud? If people wonder why church crowds are decreasing, this is one reason.

When Jesus was on earth, there were no amplifiers. I enjoy good gospel music, but not if my ears need healing as a result. By the time people read this, I hope my ears will have stopped ringing.

Leroy Seawell
Greensboro

Now is the time for a real change in the way we pay for maintenance of city-owned property in Greensboro. The city can produce energy by using the roofs of publicly owned facilities. This energy can be sold or used within the building. The money saved can be used to help defray maintenance costs of those very buildings.

As roofs are replaced or repaired on existing city-owned buildings or installed on new facilities, they can be fitted with energy-producing solar units. The project would cost less if done as roof repair or as replacement is done. Solar power helps reduce pollution by reducing the need for more coal-burning or nuclear-powered energy plants. Clean solar power pays for itself.

City Manager Mitchell Johnson told me that solar power is not economical and not a good option for city buildings in Greensboro. He did say that the Melvin Building has passive solar because there is a skylight into the plaza area.

Still, I urge citizens of Greensboro and Guilford County to write, call, e-mail or speak to elected officials at meetings. Suggest that solar energy be explored. It is being used in other cities in the United States and around the world. It just makes sense.

Diane Davis
Greensboro

There has been much discussion lately about whether sheriff's deputies should carry Tasers in schools. Can you face reality?

The reality is that we have some youths who are out of control and commit dangerous and illegal acts within the schools.

Our sheriff has taken a big hit on the issue of Tasers. Why? Would we rather have continued injuries to school staff and officers than control the initiators of school violence, or eventually force an officer to use deadly force (intentionally or not) to control a life-threatening situation?

Our sheriff could have been politically correct, choosing not to allow the Tasers in order to please a small group of parents. BJ Barnes has the courage to offer preventive protection to our fellow citizens (school staff and his officers) from the bullies who attempt to disrupt and place violence in our educational system. Our sheriff, one of the finest professionals, has the guts to tell it like it is, although there is a potential cost for him.

Vern Sieg
Greensboro

The recent rise in President Bush's approval numbers after the failed terrorist plot against airlines in England is pathetic. These weaklings who fear terrorism (the new fear replacement for communism) ignore all the other Bush administration outrages:

1) the conspiracy to manufacture evidence supporting the Iraq invasion (which Bush indirectly admitted to recently in his press conference);

2) obstructing a legitimate investigation of the administration's actions prior to 9/11;

3) outing CIA operative Valerie Plame and then obstructing an investigation;

4) NSA wiretapping, contrary to the Fourth Amendment;

5) signing statements of more than 700 laws, contrary to our Constitution; and

6) criminal negligence in incompetently preparing for the Iraq invasion, while cutting veterans' benefits.

Republicans had no problems criticizing Roosevelt, Truman and Johnson during previous wars. Why should Bush be exempt?

If this administration were truly anti-terrorist, it would have pursued bin Laden in Afghanistan rather than diverting our forces in the oil and power grab against an already weakened Saddam.

The secrecy, incompetence, corruption and anti-freedom policies of the Bush administration are a much more serious threat to Americans. How embarrassing it must be to be a thinking Republican these days.

James R. Jackson
Reidsville

I would like to know why the American taxpayers should send a dime to a country such as Lebanon that supports and bows to terrorism. Let the Iranians and Syrians rebuild the country. They supplied the weapons that made the war possible. If they won the war, as they claim, why is there any need for funds to rebuild?

Iran should step in with foreign aid if it wants to be the king of the roost and accept the responsibility of being a superpower, which is another name for unlimited international welfare.

With investors leaving Lebanon, knowing that it is impossible to protect their interests with terrorists running the country, it still makes me wonder why the news media were so stupid as to believe Israel lost that war. We should vote every politician out of office who votes to send foreign aid to a terrorist country except for catastrophes of nature and any who will not vote to protect our borders.

Ken Sawyer
High Point

Does anyone else remember when we were told the merger of Guilford County Schools, Greensboro City Schools and High Point City Schools would save us money?

Lawrence Flinchum
Julian

By Barbara Sloan

Republicans are wrong when they say that Democrats would be weak in fighting the war on terrorism. That is the only issue on which Republicans think they can run and have any chance of success in the upcoming elections.

Democrats would be strong but smarter. They would fight the war not by armies alone but by using diplomacy, talking to enemies like Iran as we did the Soviet Union during the Cold War (when you talk, you don't fight) and by using smart intelligence and police work as the British did in foiling the recent airliner plot. We are not fighting a country but an inchoate idea for worldwide fundamentalist Islamic caliphate, much like the Taliban for which young men are willing to give up their lives, fueled by their hatred of Israel and the infidel West.

Republicans say that we are fighting in Iraq so that the terrorists won't come here. That is ridiculous. Terrorists are already in many countries, especially in Britain and Western Europe as the airline plots in Britain and one recently discovered in Germany show. Some Sept. 11 terrorists came from Germany.

Democrats believe in spying on conversations between U.S. citizens and terrorists, but they believe that the president should get warrants for wiretapping, which the administration has not always done. The president does not have unlimited power to do as he pleases without any oversight by Congress. The administration should not keep prisoners at Guantanamo Bay without trial or go against the Geneva Conventions against torture such as was done at Abu Ghraib prison. Our morality should be higher than that of our enemies.

The conservative Supreme Court has recently upheld some of the reasoning of the Democrats by saying President Bush must go by laws passed by Congress regarding setting up trials for Guantanamo prisoners in the Hamdan case.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Finally, someone to help vets with benefits issues

Thank God for men like Craig Kabatchnick ("Lawyers help vets battle for benefits," Sept. 3). I know firsthand about the heartaches in trying to receive veteran benefits.

My brother-in-law and my husband's best friend waged their own personal war, both receiving 100 percent in benefits only after several years of endless paperwork and trips for help. Both men are Vietnam veterans who served their country and now needed help.

If that was not close enough to home, last year my husband found out he has lymphoma cancer. We found Agent Orange can cause lymphoma. My husband was exposed to Agent Orange and filed a claim that was denied. We had lost faith in the Department of Veterans Affairs and hope until we read the article in your paper.

Now we know there are people willing to help with claims and we are so thankful for them. We're sure we're not the only ones.

Marge Keene
Greensboro

Regarding the article from a reader who lives in Summerfield, about a near head-on collision caused by another driver trying to avoid a bicycle rider ("More traffic on country roads cause for concern," Sept. 3):

I disagree with this writer about bicycles having a right to the same road as a car, truck or motorcycle.

These three modes of transportation must pay for the right to be on the roads of North Carolina and nationwide through license tags and personal property tax. Bicycle owners do not pay for the privilege to use the roads and our roads are not wide enough for a car, truck, motorcycle and/or bicycle at the same time.

If bicycle riders are going to use the road and highway system, let them pay for that privilege just like all other modes of transportation.

Currently, it is very dangerous for bicycle riders, particularly on two-lane roads, and for the added congestion caused by following a bicycle group that has no regard for the tax-paying vehicles that are following them.

Mike Markham
Summerfield

I have to admit that I feel a somber loss about the passing of Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter." On one hand, he may have seemed a little crazy, performing slightly dangerous activities sometimes, but on the other hand, he was a hero with love and enthusiasm for animals and nature. This passion and care will be sorely missed and I can only hope there will be people worldwide who will try to carry on Mr. Irwin's mission in his memory.

Mike Jordan
Greensboro

Concerning the retired engineer, Mr. Hermon Fox and questions about the quality of some of his work: Ever since the issue of defective structural school designs surfaced people have come out of the woodwork, saying he has a reputation for doing shoddy work. Maybe, but if that is the case, why would architects and engineering firms use him? If he has a reputation, the professional fraternity should know.

So, two reasons come to mind. One, he has friends in high places, or, two, the clients get what they want from him: The cheapest design to build, making the schools happy and their hands are clean.

But, let's look even further. The school system already has a procedure in place that requires that the "specifications and drawings are to be reviewed and approved by the construction supervisor" and that revisions should be "completed if needed."

They simply didn't follow it. Why?

David Colin
Greensboro

I usually read David Hoggard's column and sometimes do not agree with him. However, his column of Aug. 16 was right on the mark.

In my 40 years of voting, I have been sometimes a registered Republican and sometimes a registered Democrat. But I have always voted for whomever I perceived to be the best candidate, regardless of their party affiliation.

I know why politicians say they will support their particular party's candidates, but in my opinion, anyone else who says that must be incapable of thinking for themselves. I, too, see purple, and until more Americans see purple, I can only fear what will happen to the United States.

Regarding our commissioners, they all need to read Robert Fulghum's book, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." If our commissioners would behave in their elected roles as well as we teach our 5-year-olds to behave, Guilford County would be a better place.

Pat Hubbard
Greensboro

By Donald Hutson

I was angered, shocked and dismayed when I read your article concerning the treatment of the police dog Zeus by the Greensboro Police Department and in particular Interim Chief Tim Bellamy.

Zeus, although a K-9, deserved a full medical diagnosis, care and protection of the Greensboro Police Department as well as the citizens of Greensboro.

I do not disagree with the outcome of having to put Zeus down, as no animal should suffer needlessly. But for the police department to walk away from the financial responsibilities and leave the dog's partner with the bill is totally unacceptable and beyond my understanding as a taxpayer.

To add insult to injury, this police dog was responsible for recovering more than $1.3 million in seized money as well as taking huge amounts of drugs off the streets. One would think we could put aside a pittance of $1,100 out of the $1.3 million for the diagnosis and care of Zeus during his time of need. Officer Zeus was shortchanged for his service to our community.

Let me share how other communities view their K-9 officers. Having moved to Greensboro from Phoenix, I can tell you that Phoenix K-9 officers are viewed totally differently than here in Greensboro.

Phoenix police dogs have the same rights and protections as their human partners. If a K-9 officer is killed in the line of duty, that dog receives a full ceremony, burial and headstone. The killing of a K-9 officer in the line of duty in Arizona is a punishable offense of non-capital murder and has the potential of life in prison without parole for the accused. In Arizona, K-9 officers are not viewed as another "piece of equipment."

Zeus deserved better. Officer Marshall deserved better. The citizens of Greensboro deserved better. I am not in a position to set police policy, but there is something that I can do as a concerned citizen. If there is any officer out there who has a K-9 partner and cannot get proper care and protection for their partner from the police department or the city, please contact me.

I will find a way to make sure your partner receives the care that he deserves for his service to you and our community.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

While shopping at Home Depot on West Wendover Avenue, I parked next to a black Nissan Pathfinder. The lift gate was up and I couldn't help but notice that the rear storage area was filled with a massive, sound-blaster speaker system. A woman stood behind the car waiting for her husband.

I said to her, "This must be your son's car," and she answered that it was and she guessed the speakers were a dead giveaway. I said I really hated to hear cars with those systems coming up and down my street all hours of the day and night, to say nothing of the ones traveling many blocks away. She replied that they had told their son that he was not to come into "their neighborhood" with his system blasting.

That really doesn't address the problem of him driving all over town into everyone else's hearing space, does it? There are noise ordinances (rarely, if ever enforced) prohibiting car audio from being heard more than 50 feet away. Is she unaware of that or does she simply condone him playing his system loud as long as he doesn't come into "their neighborhood"?

This is another example of no respect or consideration for other people.

Charles W. Hodges
Greensboro

I am forever puzzled when it comes to voting on bond issues. Should we call bonds a disguise to fool the general population into thinking it is not a deferred tax?

We are overtaxed every possible way from income tax, to property tax, to gasoline tax, to sales tax, to telephone tax. The list goes on.

These bond issues should all be voted down. In my wildest imagination, I can't see spending $36 million on the auditorium at the coliseum. If Matt Brown was such a wonderful manager, he would at least break even. It is so easy to spend other people's money.

The next worst bond issue is for the museum at the old Woolworth building. There appears to be money already unaccounted for on this project. It is a very small group of people who want to complete this project. Do it with private funds.

Hopefully, the general population will finally wake up and vote no. Enough is enough. If the money isn't available from over-taxation already in place, don't spend more money.

Bob Ayers
Greensboro

I bought myself a book on the life of Rosa Parks. I gave the first one to my friends.

Parks was a beautiful Christian lady. If I were young and had a daughter born to me and my husband, I would name her Rosa.
Parks would not like all this fussing and everything going on about the Civil Rights Museum.

I'm sure she would say, "Make it small, and feed the poor. God is love."

Carolyn Corbett
Climax

I'm curious as to what other world events Jo Boykin can think of that George Bush is responsible for. Why stop with Hurricane Katrina and Sept. 11? Earthquakes, plane crashes, cancer?

In typical Bush-hater fashion, Boykin spouts the same old "Bush lied, people died" mantra. It would be refreshing if one of these folks could point out some hard evidence of the vile things Bush is accused of doing. Instead, all we hear are unintelligent and unproven statements. It seems these folks are a lot like parrots, repeating things without comprehending meaning.

Mike Sumner
Graham

My condolences to Greensboro police officer Larry Marshall on the loss of Zeus, his canine partner and friend. Even though the police department failed to do the right thing and have Zeus diagnosed (and treated, if it would have helped), he and some co-workers and friends did right by Zeus, out of their own pockets. I'm sorry Zeus couldn't be saved, but at least they tried. I believe Zeus knows and appreciates that.

To Interim Chief Tim Bellamy, the article stated that you said, "No one has come to me and said what I did was wrong." You also said you treat dogs like a piece of equipment. Well, I am sure there are many who join me in saying what you did in refusing to help Zeus was wrong.

A dog is a living being, a creature of God, not a piece of equipment. Not only that, Zeus was a hard-working member of the police department, whose work included $1.3 million in cash seizures from illegal drug activity. Zeus deserved better from his "employer."

Dinah Flippin
Greensboro

Greensboro and our officials never cease to amaze me. I don't know why I wasn't surprised to read that the police department would not pay for treatment for Zeus, the drug-sniffing chocolate lab. Evidently, no one who had a say about it has ever experienced the unconditional love a dog can give. They ask for nothing in return except to be treated as you would like to be treated.

That animal was loved and should have been treated as one of the force for a job well done. But no, the leaders of the department saw nothing but an animal that can be easily disposed of.

God bless you, Zeus. You deserved the best that man could offer for your service to the city and they turned their back on you.

Ouida Campbell
Greensboro

This year we have a choice in District 60, N.C. House of Representatives. We can continue to elect Earl Jones, who represents himself and a very few of his friends, or we can elect Bill Wright, who will represent all of the people of the district.

I have known Bill Wright for many years. I have seen him in action as a member of the Pleasant Garden Town Council, mayor of the town, and working as a volunteer on many other projects for the town. I have found him to be a person of unquestionable character, straight talk, and whose integrity is beyond question. I don't believe I could be comfortable in making the same statements about Mr. Jones.

Edgar G. Phillips
Pleasant Garden

Why are Guilford County officials spending taxpayer dollars to enrich another county and contracting with a company doing allegedly questionable business practices?

Since school systems are allowed to choose their vendors, it makes more sense to work with a company that will benefit the community.

Sensible use of public revenues will benefit the community. It has been said, "It takes a village to raise a child." I do not have any school-age children, but I am a "villager" and a registered voter. Parents and government officials, please take note.

Sherman E. Caldwell
Greensboro

If there has been any doubt in your mind about whether the present war is considered a religious war by the Muslims, al-Qaida's recently released video posted on an extremist Islamic Web site will clear it up.

The speakers on this video are Ayman al-Zawahri and Adam Yehiye Gadahn, an American convert to Islam. They stated: "To Americans and the rest of Christendom we say, either repent (your) misguided ways and enter into the light of truth or keep your poison to yourselves and suffer the consequences in this world and the next … But whatever you do, don't attempt to spread your misery and misguidance to our lands."

According to the Prophet Muhammad, the Muslim world is obliged to extend to "all infidels" a call to Islam before they can lawfully attack the so-called infidels. Once the call is rejected, Muslims must, according to the Quran, begin hostilities to subjugate infidels and convert them to Islam. An infidel, by their definition, is anyone who is not a Muslim.

The present war is not just a conflict over democracy vs. dictatorships. It is a war for the cause of Islam. It is a war for freedom or for slavery.

It is time that America and the Western world awake to that reality and stand up for freedom.

Kenneth G. Symes
Asheboro

Today, my church will observe Unity World Day of Prayer. It is time for all of us to turn from condemning the lifestyle or values of others and invest our energies in praying for world peace. How great it would be if people around the world prayed for peace each day at noon, wherever they were.

Unity magazine writer and columnist Thomas Shepherd gives us this "Noonday Prayer for World Peace":

"In unity with all my brothers and sisters of the human family, I call upon the presence and power of God to inspire the warring peoples of humanity to release all thoughts of hostility and transform this world into a garden of prosperity and peace. World peace is established now. Thank you, God."

Iris Koller
Greensboro

In his letter of Sept. 4, Charlie Liebert made two key errors. First, he misrepresented the object of his complaint. From Christopher Tew's Aug. 25 counterpoint, Liebert pulled "creationism" and "holocaust deniers" from separate paragraphs and claimed Tew was equating the two by calling both groups liars. (Might we equate President Bush with, say, Danny Bonaduce simply because both are former drug abusers? Hardly.)

Second, Liebert cited several scientific missteps (out of "hundreds") as proof that evolutionary theory was built on lies. By this logic, I could cite several known examples of biblical "editing," assert that there are hundreds more, and then claim that one of the Gospels is built on lies. I would be just as wrong as Liebert is, of course.

(Curiously, at the end of his letter Liebert claims that "Evolution is based on greater and more lies than creation." How many lies does he believe creation is based upon? How great were they?)

Evolution as a foundational theory of biology has been honed by more than a century and a half of observations, tests and logical inference. It has experienced many setbacks along the way because weakness, greed and fear can be found in any human endeavor: science, art, economics, politics, religion.

Steve Russillo
High Point

Constitution Week is Sept. 17-23. In 1956, our Congress designated this, and each year since the president of the United States has proclaimed Constitution Week to be a time to celebrate, read and study this magnificent document, which is the guardian of our liberties.

Especially with the recent fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, we want to remember and be grateful for our many freedoms.

Gene Jones
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Ginny Forestieri

My daughter, Kerry Hayashi, worked at a small Japanese fabric import company called Katsu Kawasaki in the Empire State Building. At the time of the first crash on Sept. 11, 2001, she was already settled at her desk as her work day started at 8:30.

She heard a loud screeching sound of an airplane and immediately thought about a story she had heard recently regarding an American fighter plane in the 1940s that accidently crashed into the Empire State Building. As her office was on the 72nd floor, she had an incredible view of the crash since there were no taller buildings obstructing her view.

Kerry immediately called me on the telephone. I can still hear the intonation of her voice. She said, "Mom, I have a praise report. There was just a plane that crashed into one of the twin towers. Do you remember the job that I turned down last year as a Japanese language paralegal? I would have been in that building."

Kerry actually initially turned down the position and later changed her mind within a few days. However, it was too late; they had already hired someone. It was a surprise for both of us at that time that the position was already filled since Japanese translators are a rarity, even in NYC. We believe the Lord fashioned the circumstances as we both had been praying for direction in her job search.

Kerry made her way down the 72 flights of stairs to the outside. To her surprise, it was not that strenuous. Upon leaving the Empire State Building she encountered billows of smoke that engulfed her. She walked a short distance to her husband's office. Together they traveled home to Queens, which took a few hours.

Today, Kerry and Moto are the parents of two young sons in Forest Hills, Queens. She values life and makes the most of her relationships with family and friends.

As for me, I try to never forget the lasting impression that Sept. 11 made on me. We need to live our lives circumspectly as we have no guarantee of tomorrow. We should be generous with others as life is so short. We need to major on the majors and learn to not let small problems rob us of our peace.

The writer lives in Jamestown.

As a taxpayer, homeowner and 37-year resident of the Warnersville community, I oppose the Greensboro College sports complex in my neighborhood. It would not only disrespect us as homeowners by disrupting our community, but it will violate our right to live in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood.

A sports complex would mean more traffic, bright lights, noise, trash and parking problems, and lower our property values. We already have problems with Greensboro College students parking in front of our homes, on sidewalks and blocking our driveways. Our homes may not have the same property values as those in Starmount, Irving Park, Sedgefield or Grandover, but to us they have just as much value because we own them and live in this historic community. This would never be an issue for these higher-taxed areas, and it should not be an issue for our community.

We are a family-oriented, peaceful African American community. We do not want the problems this sports complex would bring. We have the Warnersville Community Center, which provides recreation for our entire community.

Would Greensboro College President Craven Williams, trustees or members of the administration and staff desire to have a football stadium dumped into their backyard? Give us the same respect and consideration.

Margaret Pinnix
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint

By Jeff Johnson

I am a frequent rider of SCAT. I am disabled and in a wheelchair. If it wasn't for the SCAT service, I would not be able to leave my home. I use SCAT for transportation to and from my volunteer job of teaching computers to the disabled. I also use the bus for transportation to church and to the show once a week. I moved here from the Chicago area, and believe me when I say I know what it's like to not have transportation service. You are a prisoner in your own home.

I am so thankful for the SCAT transportation service, and I agree an increase in the fees was inevitable. I think for the services we are getting, it's worth it. Compared to other areas, SCAT service in Greensboro is invaluable. Of course, the cost will put a strain on some budgets, but we will have to review what is important to us.

With everyone in the world paying more at the gas pump, why would we think we're exempt? If we want to be treated and looked upon as ''normal'' individuals, then we also need to pay the price. When you consider it's our freedom to come and go, it's priceless.

I just felt I needed to voice my opinion in this matter. I know there are some in the disabled community for whom the cost is prohibitive. I know I've already prioritized my needs for transportation and considered how to decrease some of my other expenses in order to accommodate the increase we'll have in January.

I can only speak for myself, and this letter is in no way critical of those protesting the increase. We all have our own special needs, opinions and concerns. This should not be viewed as an attack on the disabled community as a whole but as a step forward in the ongoing transportation needs of this growing community.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Thank you for the wonderful story of Ananda Rose Bennett, in ''Rosie Speaks'' (Sept. 7). The story of losing her voice, then regaining it through surgery and speech therapy, was heartwarming. Of course, my favorite line was, ''The next step was speech therapy.''

On behalf of speech-language pathologists everywhere, we know how much communication means to our clients. It is very rewarding when a person who regained her voice, literally and figuratively, takes the time to tell her story.

Celia R. Hooper
Greensboro

The writer is professor and department head, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, UNCG.

Kenneth Caneva and Jane Sugarman's letter (Sept. 5) admonishes Rabbi Fred Guttman for ''not specifically defending Israel's attack on Lebanon.'' This is as it should be since the main players in that fracas were Israel and Hezbollah.

The above-mentioned writers should understand the war was started by the leader of Hezbollah, who publicly admitted that he wouldn't have kidnapped the two Israeli soldiers if he had known it would start a war. In response to Caneva and Sugarman's wondering if ''it is worth it,'' let us not forget the parable from the New Testament regarding the shepherd and his sheep. He left all in order to find one.

Another moral precept for all of us to ponder: When we allow evildoers into our home, we then must assume some responsibility for the evil things they do.

Larry Stafford
Kernersville

In response to ''A pair of anniversaries...'' (Sept. 5), New Orleans is coming back. Founded in 1718, you really don't think what took 287 years to build can be rebuilt in one year, do you? The residents of the Ninth Ward, etc., need to help themselves a little more, like Mississippi did.

President Bush is right. Sept. 11 and Iraq had nothing to do with each other. It's a fact. Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to the world, and there were weapons of mass destruction. That's why we went to Iraq, not to fight the perpetrators of Sept. 11. There is no such thing as an involuntary call-up of reservists. Those in the reserves and regular military are in the military by choice, which makes it voluntary. A draft, on the other hand, is involuntary. You have no choice. You go and fight. Remember Vietnam?

As for the Sept. 11 perpetrators, Bush did not let them go. They died in airplane crashes, remember? What do you want, Jo Boykin of Greensboro? A mass exodus of troops from the Middle East? Another Sept. 11 is inevitable if we cut and run. Ponder that while you sit comfortably in the security of your home.

Richard Sanders
High Point

We of New Garden Friends Meeting of Greensboro condemn the use of torture for any purpose, including the furtherance of the objectives of war. Torture by any means, whether direct or by proxy, is immoral.
Our condemnation of torture is not based on any political opinion or on the laws or treaties of any nations.

We are guided by a higher law that serves as a compass for all humanity. Torture violates the basic human dignity that all religions recognize. It degrades everyone involved — policy-makers, perpetrators and victims.

We agree with noted Quaker, William Penn, who once said, "A good end cannot sanctify evil means; nor must we ever do evil, that good may come of it."

We join with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (www.nrcat.org) in our belief that torture is a moral issue. Let America abolish torture now — without exceptions.

Sallie Clotfelter
Greensboro

The writer is clerk, New Garden Friends Meeting.

Herewith are a few wildly disparate thoughts while cruising Bryan Boulevard at 58 mph, praying the NASCAR-wannabes roaring by (cell phones activated, turn signals forgotten) will let me survive another day:

1) TV commercials are more frequent and more irritating than ever. Far too much of every hour is consumed by silly messages shouted too loud. Changing channels doesn't help.

And sports commentators gab non-stop about everything but the game being played.

2) Maureen Dowd is more obnoxious than my old buddy Molly Ivins. Her recent columns, "Bush Jr. deserves stern spanking" (Aug. 29) and "Bush can learn from the Bard" (Sept. 5), are incredibly poor attempts to savage the president with low-grade "humor."

3) My Bell South phone bill is eight pages of complexity. Taxes and fees make up one-third of the total cost.

4) What else to grumble about? Well, there's the lottery — taxpayer money for "more jobs"... exorbitant CEO salaries, crooked stock option deals ... the county commissioners.

I feel better now.

Bill Beerman
Greensboro

Finally the truth is told. From the diseased mind of Dick Cheney, we hear it at last: WMDs or not we were going to attack Iraq, and we would do it again. The de facto head of the war party reveals the constant stream of lies over the justification for the Iraq war.

Forget the dodge of flawed intelligence; think flawed leaders. Just lie to the American people because they are stupid enough to believe us. Isn't that in essence what Cheney said? This, after the prime minister of Britain gives us another pile of lies to justify the war.
What does it take to get Americans to realize what kind of monsters are running our country?

We have a president from whom critical information is withheld so he can be protected from responsibility when the truth comes out ("I did not authorize torture").

But who is he holding responsible?

How much longer can we tolerate this? This is more than just incompetence on a grand scale. This administration is morally corrupt. It must be removed from power as soon as possible.

LaMotte Akin
Chapel Hill

A man was seen looking for something under a street light. When approached, he said he had lost his car keys about a block back. "Then why are you looking here?" he was asked. He replied, "Well, the light is so much better here."

Five years after 9/11, one might want to ask our current administration, "Is the light better in Iraq than in Afghanistan?" With the defense secretary blasting those who question policy as essentially lending support to the enemy, I would simply ask him who he thinks benefited the most from our plunge into Iraq.

I contend that bin Laden sat back, wiped his brow and said, "How lucky am I that the U.S. has diverted so much of its effort away from me?"

Larry Richardson
Greensboro

Thanks to the News & Record and the citizen columnists in the Second Opinion page (Sept. 10) for writing on Sept. 11, 2001. Most were interesting and thought-provoking.

However, I don't understand how H. Nolo Martinez's obsession with fear of conducting official business in English has much to do with Islamo-fascist attacks on our country.

The same is true of Malcolm Kenton's obsession with saving spotted owls.

People, this threat is real. This a new kind of war against a new kind of enemy. This is our first try at this. Realize we'd better stick together to find a balance between an overbearing government and safety. Those who simply say this administration is wrong should be ignored unless, in the same breath, they have a better solution that will work.

Paul Camp
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column.
By Betty Sink Aydelette
The Aug. 23 editorial about teaching Chinese or any foreign language to elementary students was interesting to me. Years ago, I helped initiate the program of teaching elementary children conversational French.

The program began at Irving Park School in the fourth through sixth grades. We followed what was then known as the Cleveland Plan, which consisted of only speaking French in class. Grammar and reading would follow in ensuing years.

I extended the program into three other elementary schools. Two other teachers followed suit, and the concept was considered a success. I moved out of town and did not know how long the elementary schools sustained the program.

There was one drawback: There was not enough follow-up in later years, since there were not enough teachers to continue in the middle schools.

You mentioned that teachers of Chinese, or any foreign language would be hard to find. It is important to start new languages at an early age, since young brains are very receptive to all new learning.
It is equally important to continue the instruction through the years. Of course, the answer is to interest more students to train in teaching languages.

I am very much in favor of the Spanish immersion program in Greensboro. With this plan, children who already have their native language well established can take on a new one, with no apparent difficulty.

In a later edition (Aug. 28), I read with interest, "Georgia's first bilingual school opens." If teachers are available, and I'm sure Spanish speakers are, this program gives children a two-for-one head start.

By the same token, children who come from foreign families should never let go of their heritage tongue. If their parents spoke it correctly, they will always have a perfect accent.
The writer lives in Greensboro.

I see so many people struggle within jobs that pay them next to nothing, jobs that all too often do not provide them with the monetary freedom or time to seek better-paying careers.

For businesses, it may seem that having the lowest-paid workers as possible would be a priority, but in truth a well-paid worker is more stable mentally and emotionally and works more efficiently. Also, higher pay leads to a better lifestyle for many people, which is directly and indirectly affected by one's pay.

Please stop turning a blind eye to the minimum wage problem in this country and work to increase the wage to that of a living wage.

Peter Raines
Greensboro

Racism might not have inspired some Guilford County commissioners to fire former manager Willie Best, but logic demands questioning why they gave him a raise and favorable review only a few months earlier and so soon after provided him no opportunity to improve.

Mediocrity is a common American trait but it usually goes unpunished. Selectively responding to a common flaw makes one wonder what variables determine our different responses to the same characteristic.

More recently, Roselle Wilson, N.C. A&T State University's vice chancellor for student affairs, was fired, allegedly without being given a reason (News & Record, Sept. 9).

Since they stood up for Best, will his backers also question how Wilson was treated? More likely, Wilson should expect as much support as former A&T football coach Bill Hayes received after he was fired.
A person might take seriously some people's concerns about how blacks are treated by white institutions and individuals if those same people expressed any concern about how black institutions and individuals treat people.

Ultimately, racism is no more evil than the generally poor way in which too many institutions and individuals treat people across the board, also without any reasonable or acceptable justification.

Seymour Hardy Floyd
Greensboro

"Freedom to discriminate." Excuse me. What the "dispassionate analyst" (Walter Williams, "Mixing It Up" column, Sept. 7) needs to ponder is the difference between his implied two definitions of discrimination: loving/liking an isolated few compared to the many, and hating/disliking an isolated few compared to the many. It is the latter that we seek to change.

Mark Chijioke
Greensboro

I read the article in the paper about Tasers in our schools and how the school board wanted to vote on keeping school resource officers in middle schools or doing away with them.

I was an SRO for 12 years. Before school board members vote them out, they should sit back and take a look at what they do. They do much more than arrest kids.

I have a good friend who is an SRO at Eastern Middle. When he first went to that school, there were a lot of problems. Between him and the principal, those problem are way down, but it took them two or three years to get there.

I would say to the school board, please ask teachers, kids and principals before making a bad choice on this. If you are so afraid officers will be Tasing all the kids, then, yes, vote them out. But if you want our schools to remain safe, leave them in. It's worth the money if they prevent one kid a year from going down the wrong road.
Also, look at the recent shooting at Orange County High School almost next door. That could very well happen here.

Walter Richardson
Colfax

After reading your recent editorial (Sept. 2), I feel compelled to comment. Most SCAT riders are covered by Medicare, not Medicaid, so medical travel is not paid.

Secondly, SSI is a source of income for most disabled citizens. Therefore, a $72 pass is out of reach when SSI pays $66.

Third, why didn't the task force and the City Council involve the disabled community in the discussions before changing the system? The city discusses issues for months, yet SCAT changes were only publicized after the fact. Where is the public input for the proposed changes?

The problem with the unlimited pass was abuse by a few riders, their families and caregivers, which GTA is unable or unwilling to address. This problem will not affect the finances that the task force is worried about, but addressing it would eliminate the "excessive rides."

The task force was appointed, met, made decisions and reported to the City Council, which immediately acted. All without any dialogue with the disabled community. Transportation is vital to the disabled and yet we were ignored.

James Wells
Greensboro

Editor's note: The task force included a SCAT rider. Its recommendations were issued in May, a month before they were approved by the City Council.

Your Sept. 7 editorial, "A sad win for smokers," was the most pompous, arrogant, self-righteous piece of tripe I have read in a long time. So, you say, the "infirm and disabled residents" of Moses Cone Extended Care Center don't have the right to "cloud their lungs" with cigarette smoke, even if they do so in their own space, out of the way of those who would be rightfully offended.

As a lifelong and passionate civil libertarian (and ex-smoker to boot), I find that not only offensive, but downright un-American. The great thing about this country is that an individual can choose her own path, as least as long as it doesn't interfere with the rights of others. Who gives you the right to say otherwise?

Seth R. Cohen
Greensboro

I have just watched a rerun of the news showing the devastation that Hurricane Katrina left in New Orleans and Mississippi. I could not help but think how much the great amount of money spent on the misguided war in Iraq could help the poor, suffering people in our own country. Life seems so unfair sometimes, doesn't it?

Nell Abels
Greensboro

Skip Alston and like-minded black "leaders" recently convened another "rage against whitey" event. As always, they attributed every obstacle in life and every problem in the black community to racism. Their rhetoric is irresponsible for several reasons.

First, it demeans the great strides that America has made to rectify past injustices and the contributions made by average Americans every day that bring blacks and whites closer together.

Secondly, Alston and others ignore serious problems over which blacks have control. Take, for example, the problem of out-of-wedlock births, which now account for 70 percent of all births in black communities, or the fact that the leading cause of death among young black men is homicide — by other young black men. It is no secret that children born to single parents tend to have lower achievement in school and are more likely to live in poverty. When such a large percentage of black children is born to single mothers, disastrous results necessarily follow.

According to Bill Russell, racism will always exist. That does not justify Alston and others blaming whites for every problem faced by black Americans and absolving them of any responsibility for what goes on in their own communities.

Paul Daniels
Greensboro

We support Stuart Albright for Superior Court judge. Each of us has served as chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, our state's highest court. We know Stuart Albright, and we believe he has the required experience, judgment and ability to make an outstanding Superior Court judge and deserves your support to continue in office.

We urge you to keep Stuart Albright as a Superior Court judge by voting for him on Nov. 7.

James G. Exum Jr.
Henry E. Frye
Greensboro

Editor's note: The letter was also signed by former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justices Rhoda B. Billings, Burley B. Mitchell Jr. and I. Beverly Lake Jr.

By Butch Kirkman

I am glad someone is finally trying to do something about how the Veterans Administration handles claims. It is great that Lex Alexander wrote about the lawyers helping veterans. I have already been in contact with Craig Kabatchnick and he is going to help me and other veterans with our mishandled VA claims.

I am a Vietnam veteran who has been diagnosed and aggressively treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by several VA doctors for the past four years. Yet, the VA compensation and pension bureaucrats say I can't prove my PTSD is service-connected. They have also informed me they have "misplaced" all my service and medical records.

The VA doctors say I am unemployable and won't let me work, but the C&P people keep denying me benefits and won't even use their own doctors' diagnoses and opinions as evidence in my favor. I have 12 VA doctors who agree I have service-connected PTSD.

I have even gotten Congressman Howard Coble's office involved and the C&P administrators seemed to enjoy jerking them around, too. It is evident the C&P group is not accountable to anyone.

I applaud Mr. Kabatchnick and all the other attorneys who plan to help veterans with their claims. The bigger question might be, why does a veteran need anyone to help him or her with a claim, anyway? Why shouldn't the VA be veteran-friendly instead of adversarial? However, my claim is more than four years old, so I am glad that lawyers are willing to get involved. Our veterans deserve better treatment than this.

Many of the service organization service officers are overloaded and sometimes just don't seem to be veterans' advocates, either, for whatever reason.

I must add that the VA medical professionals have been excellent to me and actually saved my life. They have even written personal letters to the C&P supporting my claim. The C&P says this medical evidence cannot be used because it is after the fact, as the doctors were not in Southeast Asia with me. If it weren't so important, this whole deal would be laughable.

Thank you, Mr. Kabatchnick, for doing the right thing for our veterans. We need more true Americans like you to step forward to help our deserving veterans.

The writer lives in Archdale.

I am writing in support of Gerald Witt's article (Sept. 2) about the Eden police chief seeking a pit bull registry.

As programs director for Cove Creek Gardens, a public teaching garden on the northern end of Summit Avenue in Greensboro, I am charged with providing a safe environment for our student interns and the visiting public. Often, pit bull dogs are loose on the street; many owners with pit bulls on a leash seem to have little control over the dogs. These dogs pose a hazard to our interns, visitors and staff.

Like the ordinance proposed in Eden, a Greensboro city ordinance should be enacted that would require photographing both the dog and the owner, as well as recording the owner's name, address and place of employment, along with a $50 registration fee.

I have seen pit bulls in this neighborhood intimidate and attack adults and children.

I encourage our City Council to consider enacting an ordinance that would provide guidelines for pit bull registration and housing as a means of protecting not only our residents, but our police, fire and animal control officers as well.

Julia Blizin
Greensboro

Tropical Storm Ernesto and the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy remind us all that we are vulnerable in our daily lives to disasters. September has been designated as Preparedness Month by Gov. Easley, and I applaud the efforts by the Guilford County Department of Public Health for including a preparedness circular in the Aug. 27 News & Record.

I have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of disasters on families in the Triad, and while we cannot stop the hurricane or winter storm from impacting the area, we can work to prepare our friends and families for the hazards we all face. Taking the simple steps of being informed, creating a plan for disasters, and preparing a disaster supply kit will help all of us remain safe and secure during our next disaster.

Don Campbell
Greensboro

The writer is assistant coordinator, Guilford County Emergency Management.

Recently, in what should have been a relaxing evening with my wife, I found myself assaulted by an astoundingly racist and hateful campaign advertisement. Vernon Robinson, the challenger against Brad Miller in the 13th Congressional District, has one of the most abhorrent and vile campaign advertisements I have ever seen running on local cable providers and even proudly displayed on his Web site. The level of hate delivered in those few seconds of television time was so intense and disturbing that it reduced my recently immigrated wife (legally, might I add) to tears and left her afraid of the attitudes and beliefs our own neighbors may harbor.

Robinson is a man of color, and thus I am doubly amazed that he would not only countenance but condone this piece of hate speech and even parade it on his Web site. I should expect that he, of all people, would understand the pain and divisiveness of bigotry and should know better than to pander to it and promote it himself, or condone the same. Shame on you, Mr. Robinson. I know who I hope to see win in November.

Sean Simpson
Gibsonville

"The Path to 9/11" is a piece of political propaganda, pure and simple. Any journalist can, with a look at the 9/11 Commission Report, see the inaccuracies and outright lies involved in blaming the Clinton administration for bin Laden's attacks on Sept. 11, while exonerating the Bush administration of any wrongdoing. However, this is the thrust of this "docudrama," which was aired in the obvious hope of influencing elections in favor of the Republican Party.

Third World countries have their media controlled by the government and ruling political party, but this is the USA. The Disney Company and ABC had no right thrusting this collection of half-truths and lies on the American public and our schoolchildren.

Linda Cody
High Point

"Are you safer now than before Sept. 11, 2001?" That was the question most often posed by the media before the fifth anniversary of the attacks. Many Americans feel that we are not. A constant drumbeat of reports concerning terrorist successes worldwide contributes to a sense of unease, if not downright fear.

For some, if we were not involved "over there," there would be no reason for Muslim extremists to target us. Just as many downplayed the writings and speeches of Hitler before WWII, many today ignore the clearly stated goals of Osama bin Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, to destroy the West, especially America, in order to institute a worldwide Islamic hegemony.

Additionally there is an undercurrent that America is just as guilty, that we are underutilizing diplomatic methods to foster understanding and mutual respect. But how do you negotiate with a people who do not compromise and desire your utter destruction as a religious tenet?

There will be more attacks, and terrorists only need to succeed once. So the "safer now" question is disingenuous, evoking feelings rather than reality. A more honest question would be, "Are we better protected now than before 9/11?"

Bill Christiansen
Greensboro

I would like to encourage the voters of North Carolina House District 60 to examine their representation. Do you know your representative? Are his ideas, opinions and, most importantly, votes in alignment with your standards?

If you are uncertain of the district in which you live and who your representative is, log onto the North Carolina General Assembly Web site, www.NCGA.state.nc.us. Find your district map, look at the bills sponsored and the voting record for your representatives and senators. Explore the information and research who you have sent to spend your money in Raleigh. Remember our elected officials should be serving the people and not their own self-interest.

For residents of District 60, Bill Wright will proudly represent Guilford County. He is a man of character, integrity and a true public servant. He has a proven record of leadership, service and fiscal responsibility while serving as a local councilman and mayor.

Bill Wright readily volunteers within his community and serves tirelessly on behalf of our brave veterans. He is dedicated to his family, friends, faith, neighbors and nation.

Vote for Bill Wright, N.C. District 60. He will restore credibility to our district and represent the people for whom he serves.

John M. Furlough Jr.
Pleasant Garden

I was appalled to read on the front page of the Sept. 5 News & Record about the march held in downtown Greensboro that was organized by the Guilford County Coalition Against Intolerable Racism.

The article stated that the group encouraged people to spend money on Sept. 4 at black-owned businesses only.

According to the New American Webster's Dictionary, the definition of racism is "prejudice against certain peoples."

So you tell me, if this situation isn't one of reverse discrimination and racism, then what is?

Erin N. Cross
Gibsonville

The Sept. 6 News & Record described the overturn by the Court of Appeals of a conviction for cocaine possession because of "unreasonable search and seizure."

The Court of Appeals objected to the police including in their search the shining of a flashlight into the underwear of a suspect where they found a hidden bottle of crack cocaine.

Really? Does that mean that anyone suspected of trafficking can hide their stash in their underwear and escape arrest? Lots of criminals must be gleeful at this news.

What are the police expected to do? The court's message seems to be to hide your contraband in your underwear and get a free pass.

Edwin L. Bryan
Greensboro

Smokefree Guilford appreciates the coverage in the News & Record of the announcement of its establishment in the op-ed piece that appeared on Sept. 7.

However, the headline, "New group takes on Guilford smokers," disturbed me. Just because Smokefree Guilford wants to make public places smoke-free does not mean the organization wants to make its relationship with smokers adversarial.

As mentioned in the article, even 62 percent of smokers would prefer or didn't mind dining in a smoke-free restaurant.

Smokers aren't bad. The product, secondhand smoke, is a health hazard. It is that product, not the smoker, that Smokefree Guilford plans to tackle.

Smokers will be most welcomed as members of Smokefree Guilford.

Julie Westholder
High Point

The writer is co-chairwoman, Smokefree Guilford.

First, I would like to thank you for running my letter regarding dental plans (Sept. 10). I since have received calls advising me that AARP has included North Carolina in its dental plan. So I researched it and indeed they have.

It is very expensive, but at least we do have a choice now.

I am still happy I wrote the letter as I am sure a lot of people did not know this previously. The rate for two people on Plan A (your own choice of dentist) is $43.80 a month and Plan B (dentist in the network) is $32.93 a month. Not too bad if you need a lot of dental work.

Again, thanks, and next time I will do my research first.

Joan Helsens
Jamestown

In Mike Markham's letter (Sept. 12), he makes the case that bicyclists should not have the right to use the road since they do not help to pay for them. He seems to think that the highway construction and maintenance of this state and the country are financed by the license tag fees and property taxes on cars. Even if this money went exclusively to that, it would not cover all the costs of the roads in Summerfield, much less the rest of the state.

Markham, and I'm sure many other drivers, need to understand that our federal and state taxes cover the bulk of the costs. Mr. Markham, those cyclists may very well be paying more than you are for the roads.

So next time you are following them, maybe you should slow down and show some regard and maybe even thank them for helping to pay for "your" roads.

Scott Duncan
Greensboro

The Bush administration and its supporters in Congress claim that the nation is safer now than five years ago, but is that reality? On their watch, controlling all branches of government, they were asleep at the wheel on Sept. 11. Unlike another infamous attack at Pearl Harbor, no one in the Bush administration had the courage to accept blame.

Instead, radical Republicans have transformed the tragedy of Sept. 11 into a club of fear. That club, aided by a compliant media, has been used to irrationally increase the anxiety and fear of the American public as elections draw near.

Bin Laden is still free, al-Qaida and the Taliban are gaining strength in Afghanistan, 2,700 Americans and more than 40,000 Iraqis have died with no strategy for "success"; this Christian nation tortures and holds prisoners indefinitely; allies desert us; the number of terror attacks worldwide has more than doubled; North Korea is developing missiles capable of delivering nuclear payloads; Pakistan and Saudi Arabia continue to fund terror organizations; Palestine was ignored and Iran thumbs its nose at the United States and declares it will produce a nuclear weapon.

We deserve more than incompetent politicians with failed policies who have deceived the American people.

Jerry Meisner
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Greyson Kuhn

Regarding the article, "Hey, Greensboro! How do you want to be perceived?" (Sept. 13), I found the answer in two other items published the very same day.

Ronnie Dotson's Second Opinion piece, "City just isn't 'vibrant' after 8 p.m." bemoaned our downtown's unrealistic vision of itself as a bustling hotbed of economic progress and nightlife. He suggested that what we need is a real "tourist element to support the local foot traffic."

In the Triad section, I read that Moses Cone has donated $250,000 to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.

Right there, we've got it.

Why not brand ourselves "Greensboro, City of Goodwill" (or "Brotherhood," or any other description that denotes generosity of spirit)?

A slogan tied to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum would position our city as an ideal place to live, do business and visit. It also would encourage the donation of additional monies needed to fund our unique and worthy cause of honoring Greensboro's heroic civil rights advocates.

We can offer a compelling downtown tourist attraction to enliven the scene and enrich our economy while also symbolizing what we as a city should aspire to be. And, unlike the city's previous campaign, "Greensboro connects," which failed to arouse enthusiasm, a slogan of goodwill not only portrays our diversity of connections (the emphasis of "Greensboro connects") but also speaks more profoundly about the attitude that allows us to do it.

And to all the cynics, sure, we've had our low points with the constant bickering about racial bias and inequality in our city, but there's much in the power of suggestion.

If we brand ourselves as the City of Goodwill with the slogan ever present and oft-repeated, then perhaps we'll try to live up to its standards -- standards of love, compassion and, most of all, tolerance.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

After visiting the Web site of one Vernon Robinson, it is safe to say that, if I wasn't voting for any other candidate besides Robinson, I am now. As a voter and a North Carolina resident, I found Robinson's Web site, TV spots and radio ads distasteful, racist, homophobic and downright bigoted lies.

He obviously is catering to the fear-mongering population, scaring them into thinking that the big bad minority next door is out to steal your child and take away your job. Is this what politics has been reduced to? Not only that, but there are no valid statistics to support Robinson's outlandish and over-the-top claims. He definitely is like Ann Coulter, and that is not a good thing.

If Robinson becomes a North Carolina congressman, I'm moving to Mexico. Stop the hate and pick up some information; stop your bigotry at your own front door.

Robert Eldredge
Greensboro

The News & Record's Sept. 10 headline asks, "What have we learned from 9/11?" The reader is given photos and the briefest of several individual memories.

Consider one great lesson from 9/11: As a nation we are becoming nonverbal. Our collective angst is summarized in a few sound bites issued by a nonverbal president ("Stay the course" and "Complete the mission," as if we know where we are headed).

Our national response is reduced to military action against an age-old human behavior: terrorism. (Can one win a war against a tactic?) The media continue their march toward ever smaller homogenized captions that morph complex problems into digestible, meaningless phrases. Health care, poverty, education and justice have become issues of "personal responsibility," no longer meriting public discourse or debate.

The best example of how nonverbal we have become may be in our lack of voting. The campaigns have degenerated into a series of personal attacks so we don't even have to think about the issues. To speak up and articulate a coherent response has become un-American. We drift along, letting our president "nonspeak" for us. Because, when it comes to "nonspeaking," our president is a world leader.

Kurt Lauenstein
Greensboro

As a health care worker, I see that the current Medicare reform is not helping most patients. Most are paying more than double the premiums for a service they do not use. Something different needs to be done, and instead of giving free health insurance (Medicaid) to our nonresidents and immigrants, it should be given to our elderly.

Lucia D'Egidio
Greensboro

Cynthia Jeffries recently wrote an article, "Library kicks off book project." She announced, "The only crime he had committed was being born Jewish and Polish."

Let us get on the right foot with this subject. No one in the modern world is born "Jewish." As one becomes a Christian whenever one accepts Christianity, one becomes a Jew whenever one accepts Judaism. One cannot be born with a religion. Religion is taught.

A lot of effort is required to become un-indoctrinated as I have become studying religions and agnosticism. Today I accept agnosticism, which is a belief that one can neither prove nor disprove whether there is a God. Most conflicts are caused by one religion fighting another religion.

The book of Anne Frank's dairy is an excellent choice for all of Greensboro, for it is one person's intimate story of the Holocaust. However, my Funk & Wagnalls says, "Modern Jews are members of a separate ethnic community or fellowship rather than of a race ..."

Jeffries has furthered prejudice against Jews by stating that one can be born Jewish. Modern Judaism is not a race but a religion. Let us all tiptoe, please.

Judy Stierand
Whitsett

Just think how terrible it would be if we did something to another country or a group of people and they decided never to forget.

Richard A. Davis
Pfafftown

By Vada Bostian

Lorraine Ahearn's column (Sept. 17) regarding John, a child in the care of Social Services until his 18th birthday, brings to light a deplorable practice. Those most in need of whatever small benefits or property they possess are those who are most likely to have them snatched from their hands in the name of "saving money."

No respectable society or person expects their children to pay for their own care. I don't hand my daughter a bill for room and board at the end of each month. Her father doesn't expect her to pay back the support he pays to her each month. When she receives a monetary gift for holidays or a birthday, I don't reach in and take out my cut. What I do, as a parent, is to ensure that she invests a large portion of that money for her future, and she decides what to do with the rest.

Children in foster care have to rely on the state to be their parents, yet they are deserving of the same respect any other child receives. They should no more be responsible for paying their own way than my 5-year-old. Taking money or property from children, especially that which can be used to secure a better and more stable future for them, is despicable. We have read in other stories about children who, when turning 18 and aging out of the system, find themselves homeless and on the streets.

John has the opportunity to avoid that fate, yet DSS seems hell-bent on making sure he loses his chance. I can only hope that until DSS changes its policies of stealing from vulnerable children, the appeals judge soon to hear this case thinks the same as I do.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I am writing this letter to emphatically state my endorsement for Judge Susan Bray, who is running for election as a Superior Court judge in the upcoming election. I have worked with Judge Bray and can strongly testify that she is honest, fair and one of the hardest-working judges that I've ever worked with.

In my 30 years of experience as a deputy clerk of Superior Court in Guilford County, I have been given the opportunity to work with many different court officers and judges, and Judge Bray impressed me as one of the very best in all my years of courtroom involvement. She will do an excellent job as a Superior Court judge and is the best choice for this important position. Guilford County deserves the best candidate who can be found, and Judge Bray ranks at the very top of the list. Please give her your support and your vote on Nov. 7.

Carol Gray
High Point

As an arts supporter, I want to endorse the bond referendum and specifically the renovations to War Memorial Auditorium.

I was a student in college when the coliseum, town hall and auditorium were built. They were facilities the citizens of Greensboro were very proud to use. With only one renovation in almost 50 years, the auditorium lacks basic facilities and services that would make it competitive in today's marketplace. By making an investment in these renovations, we are investing in our community's future.

A professional performing arts center would help to strengthen the community. Without these necessary renovations, we will be eclipsed by our neighbors throughout the state and the Southeast and will lose our competitive edge to other venues. Your vote is important; please make it count.

Alan Atwell
Greensboro

In his national address Sept. 11, President Bush declared that ''we are fighting to maintain the way of life enjoyed by free nations.'' But, what will be the final price we pay in order for ''the Middle East to raise up societies based on freedom and tolerance and personal dignity''? With the cost of the Iraq war now soaring over the $300 billion mark, I find it worrisome that this ''struggle for civilization'' may itself in fact be the catalyst to the downfall of our way of life.

The Bush administration and Congress alike have yet to realize that just because you ask for and receive more money to spend on the spread of democracy doesn't mean that our government has the means to pay for it. Our nation is accumulating so much debt so rapidly that winning the war on terror will be meaningless when we aren't able to afford the ''way of life'' we have become accustomed to - like Social Security, Medicare and veterans' benefits.

It's time that the Bush administration and Republican-led Congress hand over the reins in Iraq and begin tackling the fiscal responsibility that they have been running on for the last six years before we, ourselves, destroy the way of life we know with our own financial retardation.

Andrew Murphy
Greensboro

Allen Johnson's ''Vote for me'' column (Sept. 10) highlighted conversations with candidates in the November election. According to Johnson, the district attorney, Doug Henderson, shared pride in his decision to fire me, a nine-year veteran of the DA's office, when Henderson had been an appointed prosecutor for a moment.

Isn't it time for the DA to move on from his first five minutes in office and share with the voters what he has done with the office, if anything, to deserve their vote?

I hope in the future, when provided an opportunity to brag on the great work of the DA's office, Henderson will choose to focus on the good work of the many experienced assistant DAs, victim advocates, investigators and support staff of the office who speak for the people of North Carolina. Perhaps that would be a greater highlight for his eight months in office as DA than the shining moment of firing an experienced prosecutor because she chose to run for office, a prosecutor who served the people of North Carolina as a voice for victims of violence, and who loved every moment of being an assistant district attorney.

Julia Wolf Hejazi
Greensboro

I guess I was as disturbed as anyone over the past few weeks to read about engineering errors, oversights and other screw-ups that were causing a large increase in the need for funds by the school system. After all, the children's safety was at risk and something had to be done.

Then I read a sentence in the news reports that help would be sought from the North Carolina lottery. The dissent among the Board of Education died to a whisper, and it dawned on me then that these school folks are a lot slicker than we give them credit for.

Warren Search
Greensboro

What's the difference between torture and what President Bush calls ''alternative interrogation practices''? I'm not sure, but we have to dump the Geneva Conventions to get away with either one.

Something smells here, and when loyalists like Powell and McCain find the implications of this so deeply disturbing that they break ranks, we should all take note.

Tracy Carpenter
Greensboro

Dearest Betsy:

Imagine my surprise when, just after my meeting at Halliburton, I opened the News & Record (Sept. 13) to see you'd taken a picture of my Hummer. Imagine my further surprise when I saw that the photo was taken while I was visiting next door to your home. If you were really concerned with how I felt about the cost of gas, why not just walk over and ask? Why sneak over, park you car next to mine, take a picture and sneak away?

Why? Because you and those of your ilk have no backbone and apparently nothing better to do with your time. Please don't sneak over to my house while I'm away and take a photo of my thermostat, just in case it's not set at the same temperature as yours.

Betsy, I'm glad you're proud to be a Democrat. However, if you're really as concerned about the environment as you claim, keep your self-righteous hot air to yourself.

Well, now you've been noticed and, after all, wasn't that really all you wanted? By the way, gas dipped near $2 per gallon. Must be due to all the hybrids.

David A. Heller
Greensboro

City voters have an opportunity on election day in November to help bring the Greensboro Historical Museum up to the level of excellence that already exists at its downtown neighbors, the public library and Children's Museum. The Historical Museum badly needs upgrading and enhancements to make it more appealing. It is, frankly, showing its age.

The museum is one of the public facilities on the Nov. 7 municipal bond ballot. Approval would allow the museum staff and trustees to add locally significant historical exhibits, better inform visitors on the history of local corporations, and upgrade ease and convenience of viewing displays.

This is a worthy project designed to better serve students and adults who visit the museum for educational and entertainment reasons.
Museum trustees and supporters are not asking citizens to carry the financial burden alone. The trustees have already raised more than $1.6 million in private funds to supplement the bond revenues. Both are needed. The museum bond would add less than the cost of two cups of coffee a year to the average homeowner tax bill.

That is a small investment for such a large addition to local history.

Pat Austin Sevier
Greensboro

In 1997, Lorillard Tobacco Co., the company I work for, moved its headquarters to Greensboro from New York, upending my life and that of my fellow co-workers who also decided to move.

As you may imagine, the change was enormous and in our search to find arts and beauty in our new home, we came across the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, the Opera Company, the visiting Broadway shows and local and visiting artists.

However, much to our dismay, the only staging facility, the War Memorial Auditorium, is not a worthy stage. The acoustics are poor, the building is small, the lobby is shabby, the bathroom facilities are insufficient, the sound and lighting are out of date, the parking is atrocious.

I hope to continue to call Greensboro my home and retire here, just as several of my co-workers of retirement age want to do. To us, the ability to have access to a first rate performing arts and concert hall center is of major importance.

Therefore, I would urge (implore) every Greensboro voter to add to the beauty of our beautiful city and vote for a top-notch renovation of the War Memorial Auditorium.

Francesca R. Curran
Greensboro

The opposition to the president's proposed rules of interrogation of captured terrorists is of serious concern. In particular, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an Air Force JAG officer, has advocated that the detainees' "rights" be upheld as if in a court of law. This puts an interrogator in a compromising position and possibly subject to a military court martial.

This reminds me of the movie, "A Few Good Men," where a wet-behind-the-ear JAG officer (Tom Cruise) brings down a highly decorated Marine colonel. While most non-experienced viewers were pulling for the JAG officer, most veterans like myself were supporting the Marines.

Gray Steifel
Greensboro

Who are the teachers subjected to the stress in your latest article, "Highly Qualified to Teach?" Has anyone noticed we have a teacher shortage?

Teachers come out of teacher training with qualifications. They are qualified to teach. Get off their backs!

First of all, they are intellectuals who have chosen a humanitarian field. Their cohorts such as doctors, lawyers and business men and women make much more money but rely on them to take care of their children's education.

Stop harassing them. They are working as hard as they can. They do not need to be assessed every day in the newspaper.
The public needs to understand what a debt they owe to teachers. They are not nannies. Take care of your kids. Teach them morals and manners.

Send them to school to learn English, math, science and history.

Judy L. Crutchfield
Kernersville

Watching TV of the conflict in Lebanon, it struck me that the bazooka I carried in World War II was a mere pop-gun compared to its RPG descendants creating some of the human and material carnage on the screen. As weapons to create destruction escalate, so do our means of defense.

America has spent billions to defend liberty and defeat tyranny. As advanced as our technological firepower has become, old-fashioned qualities of character, like common sense, still can determine outcomes.
After Sept. 11, 2001, the administration took the bit in its mouth an rode off like a riderless horse as Congress loosened its grip on the reins.

A group of "ideologues with briefcases" apparently ignored the advice of the only man among them with actual battlefield experience in the area, Colin Powell, and sent our GIs blindfolded by poor intelligence into the wrong area, for the wrong reason, in insufficient numbers with no instructions for handling the occupation.

In the elections of 2006 and 2008, we desperately need to look for men and women, Democrat and Republican, who exhibit common sense about our place in the world.

Robert S. Collins
Jamestown

Mike Sumner says (letter, Sept. 13) that people who criticize "W" sound like parrots. Let's see ... WMD's, Iraq involvement with Sept. 11, 2001, "We'll be welcomed as liberators."

That's just for starters. What else do people need to hear and see before they realize they have been lied to?

When Clinton was in office, Rush Limbaugh said it was your patriotic duty to rebel against the White House. Now, Rush and his ilk say you are unpatriotic if you question Bush and Cheney. Since when is disagreement unpatriotic or dissent aiding terrorists?

More people need to read "1984" and wake up to the fear campaign being waged by the Republican spin machine.

James Galler
Stokesdale

Regarding Sallie Clotfelter (letter, Sept. 16), clerk of New Garden Friends Meeting, the presumptuous declaration that New Garden Friends are opposed to torture of jihadists is nonsense typical of muddle-minded peaceniks. She, by inference, implies that New Garden Quakers, incapable of self-determination, authorize her to declare their opinion on any matter.

As a 60-year member of High Point Friends Meeting, married to a birthright Quaker, and whose children are birthright Quakers, I refuse to declare the position of our Meeting, as it is my experience that Quakers hold a wide range of positions on many issues.

Some elected, in World War II, to exercise their religious right to escape conscription, some accepted conscription, still others volunteered. There was no finger-pointing nor eyebrow raising for positions which differed from our own, for it is a shared belief that God, through His Holy Presence, directs our steps.

My personal opinion: Jihadists, in concert with the devil, have come to kill and destroy. I don't believe that God intended for me to sit idly by, while the devil has his way.

Arthur S. Lyon
High Point

The column by Doug Clark (Sept. 13) on judicial fundraising points out the dilemma of judges raising funds from attorneys who appear in their courtrooms. Money has been, and will continue to be, a significant presence in our political system.

What North Carolina has done is reduce the influence of big-money donations. In a brief reference to North Carolina's judicial public financing program, the column mentioned that participating candidates cannot accept contributions exceeding $500.

These candidates also cannot accept contributions from Political Action Committees (PACs), or any out-of-state donors.
Also, these candidates have to receive more than 350 donations from registered voters in North Carolina, proving that they have widespread support.

On the other hand, a privately funded candidate can accept individual donations of up to $1,000, as well as donations from out of state and PAC money. A new report from Democracy North Carolina found that candidates in the public financing program rely on attorneys and special-interest groups for less than 14 percent of their non-family funds, compared to 73 percent for similar candidates in 2002, before the program began. The report is available at www.democracy-nc.org under Judicial Campaign Reform.

Antony Khamala
Durham

The political situation in recent months has reached a point of no return. It is time for a large group of Democrats, all selected from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, to be sent to Iraq to ask the insurgents to please stop killing our troops.

Of course this would immediately stop the war, solve all the differences between the Shia and Sunni Islamic groups and bring peace at last to the Middle East.

If you don't believe what I have written here, just ask Mr. Gore and he will set you straight.

The Democrats have been represented over the years by the wildest of all animals — the jackass.

Benjamin E. Wilson
Greensboro

Although I am happy that the News & Record ran the Associated Press article, "Sea ice melt in Arctic alarming, NASA says" (Sept. 15), I was disappointed about its placement on page 5, next to more prominent articles on long-dead Neanderthals and a patient with a bionic arm.

The fact that government-funded scientists who were former skeptics are now confirming record levels of Arctic ice melts, even in the winter, has implications about global climate change that should rank a front-page headline. The debate about the reality of global warming is over, confirmed by nearly 100 percent of studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals (as opposed to "scientists" acting as spokespersons for industry writing in the popular press).

Clearly, we need to make reduced greenhouse gases a top national priority along with health care and education, especially since the USA is the world's biggest producer of these pollutants. Fortunately, most experts indicate that it is not too late to make changes that will slow or even reverse this trend, but now is the time for voters to insist that their representatives support these initiatives (such as the Kyoto Protocols). Otherwise, our children and theirs for generations to come will know the consequences of our apathy.

Henry Dorn
High Point

From 2005-06 to 2006-07, Guilford County Schools' total enrollment increased 2.4 percent. High Point's school enrollment decreased 5.4 percent.

Is there something wrong?

According to the school board's Map C, "they need diversity."

Redistricting plans said enrollment for High Point Andrews High School should have been 68 percent nonwhite this year. The real numbers show that Andrews is now 81 percent nonwhite. That is a 2 percent increase from last year!

The community did not buy into Map C, but the board didn't believe it and implemented it anyway.

Now High Point burns. People are jumping ship and taking their children with them. What the school board regarded as insolent empty threats has become a reality.

The sad thing is that many good people are trying to build a future for High Point. My question is, how will they succeed if nobody wants to come and live here?

Maybe the question is more appropriately phrased as: Who would want to come and live here?

Martin Phillips
High Point

It is easy to lose sight of the suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan. It's crucial that we not give up our efforts to respond to this genocide.

Over this spring and summer, churches, organizations and individuals stepped forward and contributed to the Greensboro Dear Sudan Campaign to help feed refugees and internally displaced peoples in Sudan.

This effort collected $13,000, which was sent to Church World Service to feed and provide humanitarian aid to the victims of this conflict. Greensboro deserves heartfelt thanks for once again demonstrating that it is a community of caring and compassionate people.

Now is the time to lend our voices to a call for a peacekeeping force to protect the brutalized civilians in Darfur.

A U.N. peacekeeping force has been approved by the U.N. Security Council but has not been deployed because of resistance from the Sudanese government.

We need to let world leaders know that we strongly support action to stop the atrocities in Darfur.

An effective and efficient way to have your voice heard is to use the resources available at www.savedarfur.org.

It's time for action!

Ralph D. Wenger
Greensboro

I was 14 when my older brother and I were listening to the radio and heard that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. High school friends had tried to get him to join the Navy with them. By the evening of Dec. 7 he knew they had all been killed.

The next day everybody went to work. The next year brought change to everyone's life. My brother was in the Army; my sister worked in Hanford, Wash. Much was rationed — sugar, meat, shoes, gasoline, tires.

For months, the news was terrible. A neighbor boy was captured by the Japanese, but the war effort continued. The population had been told by our president that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself, and five years after the Pearl Harbor attack, World War II had ended.

The attack on the World Trade Center was horrifying, but how much have our lives changed? We're told to be afraid but to continue shopping and going to Disney World. I haven't met a terrorist, but I am afraid by how much our country has been weakened by this incompetent administration and the fact it will be in office for two more years.

Pat Johnson
Jamestown

By Cathie Henson Holcombe

Allen Johnson recently wrote, "the Mayor's Mosaic Project deserves a new lease on life."This program, begun in 2004, had lost its funding after matching 90 pairs of city leaders of different races and walks of life for one year. I agree with Johnson: To undo racism, we need to get to know one another face to face as humans.

I do not know the Mosaic budget costs necessary for organizing its pairs. I would, however, like to affirm a similar successful program that's much older (started in 1990) and run by the city's Commission on the Status of Women, administered by Agnes Roseboro. It is called Women Improving Race Relations (WIRR). Being part of this group has truly changed my life as a white woman.

When I began attending in 1993, I lived in a mostly white neighborhood, attended a white church and shopped in the white-owned businesses near my house. It was a very limited life, cheating me out of knowing different people, perspectives, ideas, foods, neighborhoods, schools, churches, institutions, restaurants and parts of my hometown.

Now, 13 years later, I have gotten to know black women of different ages, as we gather for monthly programs and book discussions, meet each other for lunch or travel or arts and entertainment, attend each other's parties, or just call to share a laugh or a news article. Sometimes we go in twos, and sometimes in small groups. Nobody pairs the women; we begin by focusing on topics that affect all of us, and our relationships grow from that. I have always thought it a pity that men in Greensboro did not have the same wonderful organization to help them know people they may not easily meet.

One day I realized I couldn't be all I was meant to be if I only knew people just like me. Author Charles Jones once said, "You are the same person you'll be in five years except for two things — the people you meet, and the books you read.”

My life, for one, bears that out, and I am grateful to Women Improving Race Relations in Greensboro.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I am amazed at the number of letters dealing with Zeus, the former canine member of the Greensboro Police Department. Zeus' situation is yet another example of underfunding that has occurred in the Greensboro Police Department. It should not be laid at the feet of Chief Bellamy.

Our city manager, Mitch Johnson, draws up the city budget and determines the financial priorities. These must be approved or redirected by our City Council. In recent years, the council has chosen to throw money away on Center City Park and supplement Center Pointe. Meanwhile in another high-rise, Gateway Plaza, located blocks from the downtown police station, residents feel unsafe. If you want to blame someone, your mayor and City Council are the place to start. They can be contacted at www.greensboro-nc.gov/CityGovernment/council/.

While you are inquiring, ask what is being done to address the MS-13 Hispanic gang that currently resides in our city.

The deterioration in police protection in this city lies squarely at the feet of your City Council and it is not going to get better if we as citizens allow them to return to office year after year. The choice is yours.

Gary Wegner
Greensboro

We are so thankful that District 60 will have a candidate with character on the ballot in November. Bill Wright, a man of great character, is running for the N.C. House District 60, and we can finally unseat that "character,” Earl Jones.

Issues that Bill wants to focus on are legislation to prevent the government from seizing private property and finding ways to cut wasteful state spending.

Having known Bill for nearly 20 years, we have always found him to be a man of integrity, whose word is his bond. He works for the good of his community as a whole, not just a few. Bill will bring character back to Raleigh — where too many "characters” have taken over.

In order for things to change, each of us must vote. Please cast your vote for Bill Wright for District 60 — put character in Raleigh; vote the "characters” out.

Alan and Marie Byrd
Pleasant Garden

Fear is the catchword of this century. From global terrorism to international gangs like MS-13, we're bombarded by enemies who want our destruction. MS-13, with more than 50,000 worldwide members, occupies 33 states, including North Carolina. These highly organized groups use extortion, drugs, murder, whatever it takes. The terrorists won't go away by themselves.

No horrific incident has occurred on United States soil since Sept. 11, 2001, but that could change. Since Sept. 11, more than 20 countries have been successfully targeted by the Taliban. Many politicians show too little backbone on this issue. Safeguards were established to protect us from another terrorist attack, but, too often, additional legislation was thwarted by special interest groups. Legislation restricting sales of ammonium nitrate, a basic ingredient in making bombs, was challenged by the Farm Bureau lobby. Final legislation was reduced to a ghost of the original bill.

What do your elected officials stand for? You should know because there's an election in November. Our very way of life is being threatened. It's up to us as American citizens to determine the future of our country. Don't throw away your future and your vote. Together, we make a difference.

Jim and Alison Freeman
Greensboro

I have watched with discouragement the political process following President Bush's proposal regarding military commissions and the disagreement over how to prosecute terrorists. I am deeply concerned to see the extent of political maneuvering to get a bill passed in Congress before midterm elections.

Any bill that does not follow proper legal procedure will be subject to legal appeals, which will further delay justice the president states is already overdue. Congress must take sufficient time to craft bills that will effectively withstand judicial review.

This is not likely to be the last "war” in which we are engaged. What is decided now can and will be used either for us or against us in the future, and will either enhance or taint our credibility with the world at large.

This issue is much too complex and far-reaching to be pushed through the legislative process for political expediency and the protection of elective offices.

Barbara Geddie
High Point

I want to note the importance of the office of Clerk of Superior Court. This person not only handles the huge volume of administrative detail involved in the court system, but also engages in many legal functions.

The clerk is also a judge, rendering decisions about important matters and determining if proper legal procedures have been undertaken by attorneys.

All this makes it important that the clerk have the legal awareness of an attorney or, in other words, that he or she is one.

Before my retirement I had some frustrations in dealing with clerks who weren't attorneys and clerks who didn't know how to deal with matters that required understanding how to use statutes if they were the least bit out of the ordinary.

Fortunately, our present clerk of Superior Court, David Churchill, is an attorney and an excellent one. He has given distinguished service for an eight-year term, and we need him to be re-elected.

For him to be displaced by an insufficiently professional opponent would be a serious mistake. I urge your readers to vote for David Churchill in November.

Richard Wharton
Greensboro

We can tell it's election time again. The lies and slurs are being generated by the Republican media outlets. The speaker of the House just said that Democrats are more interested in the rights of the terrorists.

The president's poll numbers are up after a series of speeches that are full of the usual distortions.

Come on, America, don't chuckle to yourself and say, "No one really means that.” They do, and lots of people think that if the president or his attendants say something, it's a fact (even if it's clearly not).

Speak up. Don't assume someone else will. Tell your friends and neighbors — dissent is essential to a democracy. To care about the rights of all is to have a democracy.

Five years after Sept. 11, Americans are divided. Our allies are alienated. The fury of the Muslim world has increased. Bin Laden is still at large, and the Taliban is now looking to the insurgents in Iraq for nastier terror techniques.

We need change. Vote.

Faith B. Crosby
Greensboro

It has been my honor to work with District Attorney J. Douglas Henderson for the past nine months. During this time he has shown himself to be a man of intelligence, honor and forthrightness. Despite making decisions that were often unpopular, Doug chose to follow the mandate of using sound ethical, moral and legal judgment rather than bend to popular opinion.

Henderson is a well-qualified district attorney with an innate ability to manage people and ideas, as well as lead this office in its goal of helping to provide justice for the people of Guilford County. I urge you to vote J. Douglas Henderson for District Attorney.

Donna Butterfield
Greensboro

I am compelled to respond to Paul Daniels' letter (Sept. 18), in which he chided Skip Alston and other black leaders for attributing "every problem in the black community to racism."

No one in the Greensboro black community alleges that all their difficulties arise from racism. Any reasonable person recognizes that many factors affect one's success in life, and personal responsibility is near the top of the list. The point that black leaders made recently in their "Declaration against Intolerable Racism" is that the current system generally works against African Americans, making their struggle inherently more difficult.

The problems in the black community of which Daniels speaks -- the violence, the single-parent households -- are the direct result of centuries of oppression. Do we really think that we can magically end racism through legislation? How would Daniels explain the huge statistical differences in wealth, social stability and violence? To write off the racial disparity by saying, "It's all their fault," may help white people feel better, but it gets us no closer to an urgently needed solution.

True progress will begin only when people care enough about injustice -- and each other -- to do something about it.

Dean Driver
Greensboro

Regarding a new "brand" for the city:

Greensboro is located in the middle of the state, between the mountains and the deep blue sea. I would like to see Greensboro perceived as "The Heart of North Carolina ... Feel the Beat." Then listed would be all the things that make this city's heartbeat, e.g., culture, arts, sports, college scene, real estate prices, weather, quality of life, etc.

The logo could be either a heart with the outline of North Carolina in the center, or it could be the outline of North Carolina with a heart depicting the location of Greensboro. I think this logo would make a great marketing tool easily understood by all.

Peggy Meisner
Greensboro

I don't think we should be afraid to call a spade a spade. I also don't think that we have to be devotees of imagism to describe situations with the exact words. Why are we so afraid of the word "genocide"? Is there another word for the situation in Darfur?

Today, I have decided to end my shameful silence about another human tragedy in Africa. I am appealing to everyone in love with justice and human rights to join forces and raise awareness about the suffering of the population in Darfur.

It's high time we did whatever possible to stop the ongoing extermination of a people whose only crime is its ethnic difference.
We've been waiting for the United Nations to intervene for more than a year, but nothing has been done. My question is, why should the U.N. exist if it is incapable of preventing another genocide in Africa?

Nevertheless, I am not calling for the dissolution of the U.N. I am simply urging the member countries to come together and face the Sudanese villain government. The people in Darfur need you now, not after the genocide. No more silence on Darfur, please.

Moussa Issifou
Greensboro

I attend church with several vision-impaired people and they have apprised me of the problem that the change in charges for SCAT transportation have brought not just to them but other disabled people such as the wheelchair-bound, some of whom live at Bell House.

I have a comfortable enough income from retirement, and $72 a month would create a hardship for me. Can you imagine what it would do to someone who only has $300 or $400 a month to live on? Their food and housing would take all of that. How could they get about town?

The City Council may have had "one" disabled person on their task force, but did they really listen to that person? They must reconsider this increase in SCAT fees. They are sending the message that these poor people don't matter.

The council, probably on average, can spend $72 a month to eat out and have automobiles that take $72 to fill with gas, etc. Therefore, they think nothing of charging $72 for a bus ticket.

These are the same people who set up $10 bus rides to Boone. Now that is a hoot.

Elizabeth Ritzie
Greensboro

Editor's note: The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation bus route to Boone is a state initiative funded by a federal grant. SCAT service is funded by the city.

While I was a member of the Guilford County Democratic Party Executive Committee, we had the responsibility to select a person to replace a county commissioner. I was delighted to support Kay Cashion for this position based on her wide range of experiences with many programs and agencies that affect the quality of life in our county and for her natural grace, which could defuse some of the situations with the board. I have not been disappointed.

Kay carefully gets the facts and considers the issues before she votes. She has voted to spend our dollars frugally but with the intent to maintain quality services.

I urge voters in District 6 to re-elect Kay Cashion to a full term as their county commissioner.

Etta Mullikin
Greensboro

What a refreshing column by Sarah Jones, "Children need some time to be unplugged" (column, Sept. 20). How often do we, as parents, pay lip service to her words about not using television as a pacifier? As Jones' sister Rachel says, part of growing up ought to be "learning boundaries, interacting in some way with the world around you to figure out how you impact it, using your imagination, being bored, thinking."

Those fortunate enough to have discovered and taken part in the multitude of activities at the Greensboro Children's Museum know that being bored is not an option and imagination is the key to creativity.

The Children's Museum offers parents and children fun, unique and educational experiences. Traveling exhibits, interactive play stations, classes for children and summer programs all combine to bring children and adults together in a place "where fun is a smart adventure." I have visited other children's museums and am very proud to say our Greensboro facility outshines any I've encountered.

It is committed to educating the young and encouraging their imaginations. If we are serious about teaching children how to use their imagination, think and interact appropriately in an ever-changing world, then "unplug" for a day and take advantage of one of Greensboro's treasures.

Mary Salem Thacker
Greensboro

Moses Cone giving a quarter-million dollars to the Civil Rights Museum is like taking from Peter to pay Paul. Why?

A place that tends to sick people giving to a monument? Ridiculous. I'm speechless.

What is happening? That museum is now more than 40 years in the making. A plaque outside the building will be enough.
Wars and wars and wars will go and so will racism until people believe each is equal to the other regardless of wealth, etc. Money is not what makes a man; it's his heart and believing in himself -- with help from God.

Anne Gehrke
Greensboro

Greensboro voters should turn down the bonds for (1) Memorial Stadium, (2) Historical Museum, (3) Civil Rights Museum, (4) libraries, (5) swim center and (6) parks. These facilities serve the entire county and surrounding counties. Proper funding would come from county and state taxes.

Greensboro citizens would still pay their fair share. and nonresidents would start paying their fair share. Greensboro should quit providing free services to nonresidents who can well afford to pay their fair share.

Let's use some creative thinking on fire department needs. Spin the department off as an independent agency like the ABC Board and Airport Authority.

As the city expands its limits, annexed areas would keep the fire district now serving them. Fire insurance rates in suburban areas are essentially the same as in the city now. These bonds should also be voted down.

Bill Craft
Greensboro

Years ago, there was something called the House Un-American Activities Committee, a committee of Congress. Today, there may be a need to revive the committee, minus its abuses, of course, in order to investigate apparent illegal, un-American actions of this administration. Anyone with a sense of history would consider the following un-American. If you imprison someone and don't let him see a lawyer, don't tell him what the charges are, don't let him see the evidence against him, don't bring him to trial for many years, torture him while in your custody, or outsource him to a foreign torturer, that to me fits the definition of un-American.

See what can happen when the rule of law is ignored. A Canadian citizen was passing through the United States, detained by us for 12 days, then sent to Syria for torture. He was forced to confess and kept in a small cell for 10 months. He has been cleared now by a Canadian inquiry, but his life has been disrupted. This probably isn't the only such case, but we won't find out the truth if Congress won't investigate and correct these abuses.

Harvey B. Herman
Greensboro

I reside in the 13th Congressional District and I always vote. But, rather than vote for an office holder or candidate, I find I usually vote against specific individuals.

Earlier this year, I watched the hearings held to confirm Judge Alito to the Supreme Court and was appalled by the tactics and antics of Sens. Feinstein, Durbin, Kennedy and Schumer. Later, I was repulsed by Sen. Feingold's resolution to censure President Bush.

Because the above-mentioned senators are members of Brad Miller's political party, I assume he shares their views and supports their positions.

Because I cannot vote against Sens. Feinstein, Durbin, Kennedy, Schumer or Feingold, I plan to vote against Congressman Miller.

This, of course, translates into a vote for Vernon Robinson.

Guy Sinclair
Graham

I am writing in support of the bond referendum package in the upcoming November election.

All of the bonds are important -- they are not just a list of 11 projects; they represent a comprehensive, wide-ranging community building package. Approving the package will keep Greensboro moving forward as a community.

I would also like to specifically endorse the War Memorial Auditorium renovations. As a board member of the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro, I know the importance of a strong arts community.

The arts not only represent strong business, but they help to create a sense of community and provide entertainment as well.

The renovations to War Memorial Auditorium are critical to the future of our cultural community. By creating a first-class performing arts center, we can attract more business to our community, increase accessibility for all, and truly champion the arts.

Kelly M. Smith
Jamestown

Guilford County school board members, their construction inspectors and advisers seem to be quite adept at shooting themselves in the foot.

I think they all should take a hunter safety course.

Norman Welker
Greensboro

Sadly for Linda Cody (letter, Sept. 19) and other Clinton apologists, "The Path to 9/11" is an accurate portrayal of Bill Clinton's legacy on national security. And as the midterm elections loom, the docudrama should also serve as a cautionary tale of what we can expect from liberals and Democrats should they ever regain the levers of control of our government.

Far from being a fictional propaganda piece, it was well researched, well documented and done with an eye toward historical accuracy. Quoting the screenwriter Cyrus Nowrasteh, whose op-ed appeared in the Sept. 18 issue of The Wall Street Journal, "… we kept uppermost in our minds the need for due diligence in the delivery of this history. Fact-checkers and lawyers scrutinized every detail, every line, every scene … we were informed by multiple advisers and interviews with people involved in the events …(and drew as a major resource) the 9/11 Commission Report."

Quite a bit of attention to detail and due diligence for "propaganda fiction." I wonder what sort of fact- checking Michael Moore did for "Fahrenheit 9/11"?

Mike Crouch
Greensboro

I am proudly supporting Phil Berger Jr. for district attorney. As many know, this has been portrayed as the most interesting race in Rockingham County this election year.

I have done my research on both Phil's Web site and the current DA's Web site. I find it appalling that she has on her Web site such statements as "he is a liar." Belinda Foster promotes herself as a "professional and ethical" person. Such childish statements are not that of a professional or ethical person.

Berger has shown poise and class in this campaign, and I believe that he will do the same as our district attorney. That is why I am supporting Phil Berger Jr.

Mildred Cochran
Eden

Too much religion in politics? Of course not. I would hope and trust that all the people in the world desire freedom with the following principles governing their lives:

1. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

2. Each of us must lead responsible lives and act responsibly.

A free nation whose laws, rules and regulations are formulated based on the above offers each of its citizens peace, hope, equality and the pursuit of happiness.

Would you prefer your governance to agree with and promote the above?
Of course, you know that such principles are taught in the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Now, do leaders of all political parties in America -- local, state and federal -- by their action, reflect too much of the above? Or could they be best described as partisan, greedy, hypocritical seekers of power, interested only in their election?

I believe the latter is true because they are elected by a partisan, greedy, hypocritical and special interest electorate.

John Kersey
Siler City

The following is a Counterpoint

By James B. LaMuraglia

Rosemary Roberts stated that Pope Benedict was "astonishingly naïve" in her column, "Pope will learn to watch his words" (Sept. 22). The column was accompanied by a disparaging cartoon of the pope with his sandals shoved in his mouth. Can you imagine the reaction of Muslims if they were informed that the leader of their community (Shia or Sunni) had been mocked in such a manner?

Roberts is apparently confused. First, she tells us that the militant fringe of the Muslim world erupted in violence because the pope did not make it clear that the quote he cited from the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologos was not his own belief. Then, she states that the pope "blew it" because "he did not understand the volatility of uneducated Muslims who take to the streets at the drop of an imam's word." Finally, she tells us that what the pope was trying to say was that "violence and religion do not go together - but he expressed it so clumsily that he stirred up violence."

So, we have the Muslim street reacting to a pope who does not know how to make himself understood. Then it is the imams who decide whether we will have violence or not, and the pope is clumsy and astonishingly naïve, and this is why violence erupted.

The pope started to write his speech when he chose the name Benedict. He has lived through the horrors of Hitler. He has seen his countrymen held captive behind a wall of communist evil, and he sees that the fragile web of civilization is ready to unravel. Rather than naive, Pope Benedict is keenly aware that unless the Judeo Christian world can rely more on faith and less on reason, and, unless the Muslim world can rely more on reason and less on faith, the clash of these imbalances can very well undo the very essence of civilization.

I pray that a serious dialogue has begun. Rosemary, while you are advising the pope on whom he should assign to various posts in the Vatican, would you please tell the imams to stop inciting the uneducated Muslims to riot? Time is running short for the civilized world to find a common ground.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Just when did the Republican Party lose its mind? As we approach the midterm elections, we all need to keep in mind that the Republican Party believes that torture is an issue on which there is room for compromise. Even the so-called "principled" Republicans like McCain have been so corrupted by their party's moral confusion that they can be convinced to go along and get along with torture in our name.

As you enter the voting booth in November, ask yourself: Are you OK with torture being conducted on your behalf? If torture is fine by you, then by all means vote Republican. But if you think that torture is morally reprehensible, vote Democratic. The Republican Party is willing to bargain and compromise on torture. Democrats are not.

Steve Bird
Greensboro

My daughter uses SCAT for church, doctors and very little shopping. She is a college graduate with muscular dystrophy without a job. Social Security only pays a certain amount of disability monthly.

I challenge each council member and any person making the decisions to raise fares to use SCAT services for one full week. I guarantee all involved will take a second look at such a bad decision. It's like telling someone with medical problems they will help only if you pay double because you are inadequate to our society.

Sharon Rankins
Greensboro

I want my tax dollars used to help people in wheelchairs, and the handicapped. These people should not be charged more for their rides. The people who want to charge more make Greensboro look bad. They make Scrooge look downright generous!

Virginia Williams
Greensboro

"It is time for a large group of Democrats, all selected from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, to be sent to Iraq to ask the insurgents to please stop killing our troops." So says Benjamin E.. Wilson. Everyone knows that wouldn't work.

Instead, we should send a group of Republicans, all selected from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, to Iraq to ask the insurgents to please stop killing our troops. Everyone knows that only the Republicans have the ability to keep America safe. Let them prove it with their lives.

If you don't believe what I have written here, just ask Sen. Frist and he will set you straight.

Robert Koch
Greensboro

I wasn't surprised to read "State's low math goal gives up easy scores" in the "Our Opinions" section of the Sept. 19 paper.

I'm Japanese and I have two daughters, grades 5 and 9. I've been helping them with their homework since they were kindergartners, and I was very surprised many times about their math learning. Especially when my daughter was in middle school. She was confused about solving an equation. I taught her the Japanese way that is much easier to get to the right answer, but she refused because she couldn't earn credit if she solved it my way. She said she must use the exact way she learned from her math teacher, even if it's too confusing and you make mistakes easily.

Most math teachers in middle and high school know that students who move from Asian countries like India, Korea and Japan have high performance in math, even though they can't speak English as well. Do you know why? Because beginning in kindergarten, they have a different and more efficient way of learning math.

I know teachers are trying their best, but it's the wrong way. I think they should change the way to teach math, otherwise "setting the bar higher" only makes stress for teachers and students, not higher scores.

Yukari Matsuoka
Greensboro

I just viewed a TV ad by the Vernon Robinson campaign. It seems that he has continued the vicious, hateful approach that he used when he lost to Virginia Foxx. He couldn't win that campaign so he changed districts, but not approach.

I cannot understand why anyone would vote for a candidate whose public face is so filled with hate and venom. Usually politicians try to put their best face forward. Is this Vernon Robinson’s best face?

I have this hope that we will elect someone more positive, more caring, more helpful and less hate-filled.

N.K. Cline
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column.

By Marilyn White

I feel compelled to respond to the recent column by Thomas Sowell saying that the United States should not be squeamish about how it gets information from prisoners captured as suspected terrorists. He implies that he thinks no amount of torture is too much to get desired information from these prisoners.

I have a number of objections to this position. First, torture is never acceptable. Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights, made this perfectly clear in her address at the Bryan Lecture Series recently. This principle is reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the U.N. General Assembly (including the U.S.) in 1948, as well as in the U.S. Constitution barring cruel and unusual treatment of prisoners or abuse of any persons within official control. There are other agreements signed by the U.S., including the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

Underlying all these agreements is the universal recognition of the importance of protecting human dignity. Robinson pointed out that the U.S. has, until the last few years, been a moral leader in the world, and she challenged us to reclaim this position. If the U.S. adopts the methods of others whose practices we abhor, does that not lower us to their standards?

Another persuasive reason not to use torture is that any information gained is unreliable. This fact has been confirmed by many army and civilian intelligence experts.

Finally, I submit that a nation that many claim to be "Christian" should follow the teachings of Christ: i.e., Pray for your enemies, turn the other cheek, blessed are the peacemakers. Also, Christians say it is important to follow the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Are those of us who claim Christianity willing to live up to these teachings?

I disagree with Sowell that concern about how we get information from suspected terrorists is not a sign of higher morality.
There can be no stronger test of morality than a complete ban on torture when dealing with any human being.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I want to commend Robert Eldredge (letter, Sept. 21) regarding Vernon Robinson. I might have to join Mr. Eldredge in Mexico if Robinson is actually elected to Congress. But I have strong faith that Brad Miller will be re-elected handily.

I think one thing that Robinson supporters have to keep in mind is that their arch-conservative, fringe candidate would have to get other members of Congress to support his radical, anti-Hispanic bills for passage. These folks would not only include Democrats on the Hill, but also pragmatic Republicans, such as Congressman Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who assuredly knows far more about the influx of Hispanic immigrants than the likes of Robinson.

As someone who follows Washington closely, I have to wonder if Robinson supporters were under the influence of tequila when they selected him as their candidate in the Republican primary.

Tilly Gokbudak
Reidsville

By the time I was 161/2 years old, I had lived in seven different countries and visited almost 30. Although I was in Poland a short time, I visited the area of Warsaw where many Jews lived prior to the Nazis' invasion.

Years later, while visiting my parents in Belgium, we drove to Germany and visited the main Dachau concentration camp. My skin crawled as I walked through the camp.

In the museum there were several pictures on the walls. To this day, one picture haunts me. It was of a mother holding her baby in her arm with another young child holding her other hand. The title of the picture was, “On the way to the gas chambers." It is devastating to think how families were torn apart.

Seeing the short article (page A5, Sept. 19) about how two grandsons found the brother of their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, brought tears to my eyes. I can picture in my mind the joy of the reunion. It was touching beyond words to see a joyous occasion talked about among horrendous things happening in our world today.

To that family I say, may God continue to bless you in all you do.

Jennifer Ann Morgan
Asheboro

Citizens of the 13th congressional district have a duty beyond just defeating Vernon Robinson. We must defeat him by a margin that will discourage him or others from campaigning in such negative, nasty, dishonest ways.

He invaded our district after being rejected by his own party in his own district. We must send him creeping home with his out-of-state big money.

Robert L. Moore
Eden

As an African American, I want someone who is honest and effective to represent the 60th House District. Bill Wright is that man.
Bill is a Christian, a successful businessman and former mayor of Pleasant Garden.

His opponent, Earl Jones, lost his Greensboro City Council seat to a political novice because his constituents were dissatisfied.
Jones betrayed the poor when he sided with payday-lending loan sharks. Many advocates for the poor say payday lenders exploit the poor by charging outrageous interest rates. Despite this, Jones supported payday lenders.

Jones betrays public trust by not speaking out against the corruption swirling around House Speaker Jim Black, who is in the middle of a controversy involving former Republican House representative Michael Decker.

In 2003, Decker ensured Black retained his position by switching parties. In 2003, Decker ensured Black retained his position by switching parties. Decker has since pleaded guilty to charges of receiving bribes to switch parties. House District 60 deserves better.

Wayne Campbell
Greensboro

Your front-page editor certainly erred in the placement of the lead story Sept. 23 on the presidential visit to Greensboro. It was especially insulting being above the story on the number of deaths in Iraq, now exceeding Sept. 11 deaths. Not to mention the 25,000-plus injured as a result of this Bush administration debacle, which attempts to avenge his father's failed effort in the Gulf War.

What a deception in the name of terrorism.

While the visit may benefit the local couple, friends and contributors who continue believing this administration and their propaganda, it was, at best, a local page or business page story — not front page.

Let's hope in the future the News & Record recognizes the difference in news for the benefit of the community and not just political fundraising for the benefit of a few.

Nolan Williams
Greensboro