News-Record.com

On Jan. 23, I watched President Bush deliver his State of the Union speech to Congress. I love my morning newspaper at breakfast, and I looked forward to reading the speech on Wednesday and public comments.

My first look should have warned me. Your lead story came not from the Associated Press or some other professional source but from The New York Times, generally understood to be the core of anti-Bush prejudice. Before I could turn to an inside page, I saw comments elicited from four college professors. I dislike generalizing, but aside from Democrat officials, I do not know of any group more generally perceived to be opposed to anything Bush proposes than college professors. All four quoted by you found fault with the president's proposals.

I think in seeking local comments, you might have consulted Greensboro business or professional people, unless you were actually wanting adverse comments.

I will still enjoy my breakfast newspaper but will question your distinction of editorial and objective reporting.

Dick Douglas
Greensboro

I'm neither a Quaker nor a Guilford College graduate, but I had the privilege of serving on the Guilford Board of Visitors for several years. We were confronted with an incident where a student had stuffed the ballots to ensure the election of a favorite candidate for a special annual award, and it was discovered.

The board sat together at a table in utter Quaker silence. There was perhaps meditation, contemplation, prayer and serious thought. What I do recall about the long-ago event was that it all seemed to be quietly resolved with no rush to judgment.

Watch Super Bowl coaches Dungy and Smith. Despite all the violence on the field, they are a quiet picture of dignity, serenity, civility and leadership. Winston Churchill said to see an opportunity in a problem.

Tom Ward
Greensboro

"Internet addiction" -- now that sounds like something I might be suffering from. Time after time, I've found myself sitting in front of my computer, chatting online and playing games like many other Americans, but I never thought this could be considered a disorder.

According to your article, Internet users average about 3 1/2 hours online each day. It's also become so common that the American Psychiatric Association might consider listing Internet addiction in the next edition of its diagnostic manual.

While reading this, I felt that maybe calling it a disorder is taking this way too far. A disorder is something you can't help. Being mentally disturbed or being bipolar are both disorders. You wouldn't call smoking a disorder, so why call an addiction to the Internet a disorder? If ever I wanted to stop spending countless hours on the Internet, I could.

Becoming addicted to the Internet might hurt your connection with the outside world, but it's nowhere close to being a disorder. If one really wanted to stop spending so many hours of his life online, it would just take some discipline. Counseling isn't needed.

So let's stop hyping up situations that aren't that serious and focus on more important things, like world peace.

Colette Waddell
Greensboro

The writer is a student at Dudley High School.

I was fortunate to be selected as one of 24 responders to the "Two on Two View and Response" art exhibition which was highlighted in the News & Record's Go Triad section on Jan. 18, "See if this exhibition speaks to you, too."

I offer kudos to the N.C. A&T Henry Clinton Taylor Art Gallery and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, especially professor Donna Bradby, for their efforts in bringing the Paul R. Jones Collection to the Triad area.

The innovative and novel objective of the project was profoundly realized, based on my observation and observations of those with whom I personally interacted. It initiated a renewed interest in the arts on a perspective heretofore untapped. It simply took art appreciation "to a whole nuther (sic) level."

I highly recommend this exhibition to all, especially if you feel your interest is little to none.

Virlen R. Jessup
Greensboro

A News & Record reader wrote in to Tom Taylor's column, "Get Tom On It," asking what to do with used books. Two very good destinations are the Beth David Synagogue at 804 Winview Drive and St. Francis Episcopal Church at 3506 Lawndale Drive. Both will provide receipts for you to document your donation for tax purposes.

St. Francis' yearly book sale, held the first week of May, uses its proceeds toward outreach projects in the community and the world. This will be the book sale's 49th year of serving the Triad community.

Over the years, Greensboro has been very good to us by donating books throughout the year (donations can be left by the garage), enabling us to grow to over 40,000 volumes for sale.

Thank you, Greensboro, for continuing to support this outreach mission through your continued patronage.

Ellen Lyon
Greensboro

Diversity is in. Like my thinking these days:

Iraq: The big question with no right answer. Stay the course, with or without more troops? Or begin the withdrawal? If the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds can't get it together soon, let's make it crystal clear that we've gone many extra miles to help. Now it's their turn.

I respect President Bush. He is intelligent, honest, and will do the right thing. History will treat him better than we do.

Al Gore: His environmental movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," is a major contribution to understanding what we are doing to this planet.

And by the way, go see "Happy Feet" for a related but warm convenient truth.

Greensboro Police Department: It's way past time to clear the air, restore confidence and move toward first-class law and order. Please, city council and city manager, get it together and get it right.

Politics: The shift in congressional power is a genuine opportunity to practice government for the people. Partisanship has a place when values and principles honestly differ, but compromise can be the soul of democracy. Try it, you elected people.

Bill Beerman
Greensboro

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has delivered on the people's call for a new direction by passing the following seven bills within the first 100 hours of business:

Minimum wage: Increasing the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour.

Prescription drugs: Requiring the government to bargain with drug companies for lower Medicare prescription drug costs.

Student loans: Cutting the interest rate on needs-based loans in half, to 3.4 percent.

Homeland security: Strengthening the nation's security by requiring more inspections of cargo containers on planes and ships and improving grants to high-risk states.

Ethics: Banning lawmakers from flying on corporate jets and accepting meals and gifts from lobbyists.

Stem Cell Research: Providing federal funding for research on stem cells from embryos which would be discarded by fertility clinics.

Energy: Rescinding $14 billion in tax breaks and subsidies for oil drillers and reserving the money to develop renewable energy resources.

The Democratic Party again has demonstrated that it is the party of the people. Support from each of us is important to make certain these bills become law, in order to bring hope to those in need and to ensure a brighter future for coming generations.

Bob Kollar
Greensboro

Revolutionary concept? Not if you are a taxpayer.

Increasing our tax burden by $9.6 million to $21.3 million per year is not the silver bullet needed to give our graduating seniors a college education.

We should look to our neighbor to the south, and use the "Educational Lottery" for the purpose it was meant for.

Let the millions from our lottery put our graduating seniors through community college, not the backs of taxpaying citizens.

Anthony Norbut
Greensboro

I would like to thank those responsible for including horse trails at Northeast Park, which recently opened. There are more horses in Guilford County than in any county in North Carolina, but there are precious few public parks here that allow horseback riding.

Trails are being cleared for housing developments everywhere we turn and many people no longer have safe places to ride near their homes or farms. Trail riding is my favorite stress reliever on the weekends and it is wonderful to have a new, beautiful, safe place to ride in Guilford County.

The trails are well marked, the trailer parking lot and arena are top notch, and the staff is helpful and courteous. Kudos to everyone involved in making this happen.

Garland Graham
Summerfield

The following is a Counterpoint.

By William James

Having paid nearly $60 apiece for our tickets to Saturday's "Dancing with the Stars" at the coliseum, one can honestly say that there was much to the production that fell woefully short.

First, about 20 percent of the show time was devoted to video clips from the ABC television series. How exciting to pay $60 to watch TV.

To add insult to injury, about 10 or 15 percent of the audience were in seats (ours included) from which the viewing screens were not even visible.

Second, the show did not include a live orchestra (a point your Jan. 29 reviewer apparently did not notice). The music was provided by two percussionists, a quartet of singers (who did very well) and a couple more people at keyboard synthesizers. No horns. No strings. No woodwinds. Cheap.

The other aspects of the show might be described as sexy, glitzy, frenetic, athletically impressive, but most of all, extremely loud.

It remains a mystery why people think that the decibel level defines the quality of the entertainment, or how gut-pounding, seat-shaking, head-splitting, disco-style pulsing bass is supposed to define the subtleties of various dance rhythms.

There was little or no difference between a cha-cha or a rumba or a foxtrot the way most of the music was played.

Except for Harry Hamlin's lovely and elegant waltz with his wife Lisa, and one or two other numbers, the most genuine ballroom dancing Jan. 27 was that provided by the local contestants in the brief competition which was part of the entertainment.

How sad to see the rock concert-MTV style dominate the occasion — and at what a price.

The writer lives in Reidsville.

I differ with state Sen. Phil Berger on a number of issues, including the death penalty, which has seemingly done more to get politicians elected than to protect any of us from heinous criminals.

Nevertheless, I feel that I must strongly speak out against his legislative efforts to tighten regulations concerning content for films shot in North Carolina (News & Record, Jan. 28).

I think Berger, who represents my jurisdiction, and people who support his measure have casually overlooked the economic impact of films like "Junebug, " "Bull Durham" and "Nell," all of which were shot here. There's no need to take extreme measures over one scene in one film ("Hounddog").

The last major film that was shot in Rockingham County, a 1997 remake of "Lolita," was itself controversial. Everyone who might have had initial concerns about it has likely become preoccupied with other matters. I think Berger needs to as well.

Tilly Gokbudak
Reidsville

Regarding the article, "Case rocks Guilford's Quaker foundation" (Jan. 28): The story raised questions about Guilford College's commitments to Quaker values and President Kent Chabotar's intention to apply them to the college's response to the Bryan Hall courtyard incident of Jan. 20.

In fact, the application of Quaker values is at the heart of the college's response to this incident, and this is in line with Guilford having reaffirmed and strengthened its Quaker commitments in recent years. President Chabotar is leading a team of administrators who are responding to the incident with these values continually in mind.

The college's current strategic plan, developed under the president's leadership, calls for strengthening relationships with the wider Quaker community; developing training materials for orienting all in the college community to the normative Quaker principles; increasing the number of Quaker faculty, staff and students; and applying Quaker testimonies to such issues as race, stewardship of our natural resources, justice and integrity.

Meanwhile, we continue to investigate this unfortunate incident, and will try our best to act judiciously on our findings and heal our campus. Updates are available at www.guilford.edu.

Ty Buckner
Greensboro

The writer is director of college relations, Guilford College.

Regarding the article, "Illegally parked tractor trailers upset residents" (Jan. 22): My dear Ms. Feddish, I cannot believe your words, "It just looks terrible," or your reference to caring about the area's reputation. And here we go again with "race."

Truckers work hard; they deliver everything you have and anything you buy. They are my son, my brother, my brother-in-law and some of the dearest friends a girl could have.

You cannot park these huge trucks just anywhere -- truckers need their rest. It's sad, but with the world's prostitutes, robbers and druggies/alcoholics, they try to park where they can actually sleep and not worry about some idiot robbing them and/or hurting them.

Maybe you should try to understand their situation. I would feel safe it they could park near where I live and, Ms. Feddish, I am also a senior citizen.

Rachel L. Strouth
Elon

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" -- Mahatma Gandhi.

If this is true, then what my husband and I picked up off the road last Saturday night is a poor testament to our moral progress. With temperatures falling to the mid-20s, and a forecast of iced rain and sleet the following day, we question what immoral being could abandon three lab mix, 8-week-old puppies on our road. This was not the first time, nor will it be the last, that people throw out pets as if they were garbage.

When will the moral fiber of such beings realize that to have a pet spayed or neutered is the answer to the unwanted pet population, so that those with a conscience do not have to go around cleaning up their mess?

David and Jacqie Stansfield
Climax

While I applaud his concern for the environment, Jay Lennartson ("Living in Harmony," Jan. 21) lost me instantly when I saw the photo of him riding his bicycle without a helmet on busy Spring Garden Street. It is irresponsible for anyone, especially a college professor, to ride a bike anywhere without a helmet. Apparently, his definition of sustainability doesn't include health and its economics since most severe brain injury victims eventually require Medicare/Medicaid (public) funding for their care.

I feel that I am qualified to comment on these issues as past and founding medical director of the Moses Cone Brain Injury Rehabilitation programs and a daily bike commuter. I'll leave the inadvisability of riding with a heavily laden backpack (rather than rack bags) for another time.

Dr. Sam Pelligra
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Ann Witt

In response to Robert Bell's article (Jan. 28) about the recent disturbing events at Guilford College, I am here to state that I stand behind my alma mater all the way.

I graduated from Guilford in 1994, and those four years were the most formative and challenging of my life.

Guilford does embody the best of its values -- values that are Quaker in nature and that the school encourages you to take with you, to make universal. These attributes, the "peace and community, diversity, equality, integrity and justice" cited in the article, are taken seriously by the college.

I have never enjoyed, and will probably never enjoy again, the level of integrity found in my professors and many of my fellow students, in the school's overall day-to-day functioning.

Were these values found in everyone? No. Is Guilford a perfect school? No. Am I the same person I was when I graduated at 22? Most assuredly not. But the foundation the school gave me has been invaluable.

What allegedly happened to these Palestinian students is a tragedy and a terrible wounding for all concerned. There must be open dialogue and healing for the school to find its way forward. But this incident should not mar Guilford's reputation for years to come, for indeed it could have happened anywhere.

Unfortunately, it happened at Guilford. Yet, I have every faith the school will respond appropriately, that the people who make up a uniquely special community will do the right thing. This healing must and will be encouraged. I am proud to be a member of this community.

The writer lives in West Hartford, Conn.

Thank you for your recent article on Wayne and Annette Watterson. They are dear friends of ours, and they lost everything in their house fire Nov. 5. I can't think of anyone more deserving of help from the community than these two people.

They have been ministering to others for years, taking their Sidewalk Sunday School into the projects of Greensboro, teaching the young children, giving out turkeys at Thanksgiving and toys at Christmas — many times giving out of their own pocket to people in need.
It is gratifying to see the community give back to them. They deserve every bit of it and so much more.

Kathy and Cal DesVoigne
Wilmington

As a graduate, I am troubled by two things in regard to the incident that recently took place on the campus of Guilford College:

1. Only arrests have been made — there has been no trial. The community of Guilford College, with the help of the News & Record, apparently has tried and convicted these students. It seems that the public has not learned anything from the alleged rape in Durham. As in Durham, there just might be another side to this story that has yet to come out.

2. In addition to the assault charges, the men were charged with ethnic intimidation. I guess that means that if these men had only told the victims they loved them prior to the beating, they would have been absolved of their purported crimes. If that were the case, then the wife-beater would almost always be absolved. How was this assault worse than assaults with other motives?

If the men are tried and found guilty, they should be punished in accordance with the law, but I find it difficult to believe they will be able to get a fair trial in this county.

Dan Holsenbeck
Greensboro

On behalf of the board of the National Conference for Community and Justice of the Piedmont-Triad (NCCJ), I would like to commend Replacements, Ltd. on receiving the Human Rights Campaign Foundation 2007 award as one of the best places to work. NCCJ praises Replacements, the only company headquartered in the Triad to be on the list, for finding a way to combine sound business practices with an inclusive working environment.

Equality for all people is more than a motto for Replacements. It is the way it does business and invests in our community. Gary Palmer, Replacements' assistant vice president for community affairs, is actually charged with promoting equality in the community. We are proud Gary is a member of our board. Gary is known for his flurry of voluntary activity.

As chairman of the Piedmont's NCCJ, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Gary. He helps us in our mission to promote understanding and respect among all cultures, races and religions. He is a tireless volunteer and valuable board member. Our board is grateful that Gary and Replacements continue to show such civic leadership in our community.

Carl C. Ashby
Greensboro

Sen. Phil Berger has expressed his outrage at the depiction of a child rape in a film. He's right. We should all be outraged, but not at the film.

The rape scene was in the film because it is in our society. The very week he raised his concern about the scene, a 6-year-old Arizona girl was abducted, sexually assaulted and left by the side of a road in a strange town. The telling of that incident was two paragraphs in the paper. It will be forgotten by the end of the week.

The arts are a reflection of the culture that produces them. They represent our lives back to us, showing us who we are in our highest and in our lowest. The arts come from the core and are felt at the core, which is why Berger has reacted so strongly to the film.
The film is the messenger — it did not show an actual rape; it showed the telling of a rape, much more effectively than two paragraphs in a newspaper. Be outraged, but not at the messenger.

Anne Willson
Greensboro

Count me out. Not one penny of my tax money will be used to fund GTCC scholarships until Guilford County stops subsidizing the lives of illegal immigrants. How much does Guilford County spend annually to support the lives of illegal immigrants?

While the students may be deserving of our assistance, the illegal immigrants are not.

Evi Ginn
Greensboro

I want to say thank you to Mayor Holliday for his support of banning smoking in public places and protecting the health of the citizens of Greensboro. Secondhand smoke is not a "nuisance" as some would say; it is a health risk.

There are so many regulations that protect workers; exposure to secondhand smoke should be included. White-collar workers are more protected than blue-collar workers and the service industry.

Let's not turn this into a debate or a "rights" issue. Let's understand the health ramifications when exposed to secondhand smoke. Let's take into consideration the asthmatic child, the person on oxygen, someone with a heart condition or the pregnant waitress.

Julie Westholder
High Point

Recently, as we (father, brother and I) were leaving Cici's Pizza, I looked on the back of a minivan and it said, "Hey rag head, knock it off, Allah called, He's out of virgins."

Now let's get a few things straight. First, I am a Muslim. Second, where on earth did this lie, "If a Muslim kills a bunch of people then he will go to heaven and have 1,000 virgins," come from? That is complete nonsense.

I have been in college at UNCG for about three years and I'm set to graduate in May 2008 with a biochemistry degree. I have seen my fair share of racism, from the soccer field to the campus of Guilford College. Why should I stand for any of this racism? Why should I sit here and be ridiculed for being who I am? Please, keep your racist remarks to yourself. I'm pretty sure I have other things to worry about than what others have said about another culture.

I come from a very educated family. My father, a chairman at N.C. A&T State University, has always inspired me to be active when I need to. This is the first step. We all need to realize the things we say do affect people and should not be taken lightly.

Sam Hamoush
Greensboro

I take exception to the article, "McDonald's employee kills man trying to rob store" (Jan. 27).

The article is about an armed robber's attempt to hold up a McDonald's restaurant in Charlotte. The robber entered the store with a pistol and was killed by an employee who was armed. The article states, "An employee with a handgun started a shootout."

That is a blatant misstatement of the events. The dead robber, Donte McFadden, started a shootout by entering the store with the intent to rob it at gunpoint. The employee was only defending himself and the other people in the restaurant at the time. The district attorney's office should be preparing an award for the employee, not deciding if charges are to be filed against him. There is one less criminal to clog up the court system and to pass through the swinging doors, out onto the streets to act again.

We all should thank people who are willing to defend our lives and safety.

Mac McAtee
Oak Ridge

The Board of Education named the new elementary school on Pleasant Ridge Road after E.P. Pearce, former superintendent of Guilford County Schools prior to merger. It was a great moment, with the room filled with enthusiastic citizens. The naming was a turning point for the Board of Education, which moved away from directional and non-inspiring names.

The News & Record devoted two sentences containing 34 words to this happening. The paper's coverage of local news is spotty to say the least.

Joe Stafford
Greensboro

The writer is a frequent speaker on school issues at Board of Education meetings.

I am simply amazed to know that some people are so totally ignorant concerning just what is going on in this country. How some people can defend the president and his actions is beyond belief.

This is quite probably the most corrupt administration in the history of our great nation. If you will stop listening to the spin doctors and try to learn just what the truth is, you will be amazed.

Try reading two books, "Worse than Watergate" and "An American Dynasty," both written by Republican authors. You will learn just how deceptive and untruthful our so-called (good) president and his family are and have been. You will learn how this family has been involved in all kinds of shady deals, both at home and overseas.

You will also realize that President Bush is not running this country. Nor has he the know-how to do so. He is only a figurehead for the forces that are getting filthy rich because of government contracts, defense spending and other shady deals.

I urge all to try to find out the truth and to start using our own brains to determine just what the situation has become.

Howard A. Carter
Reidsville

It's morning, I am just reading the paper and am furious at someone in this county but don't know who. I read Barbara Germain's letter (Jan. 26) about the dog left chained in the cold with no decent house, and I am sure no food or water. Who is responsible for overseeing this problem?

I'm so tired of our (and they are ours because we, the taxpayers, pay them) county employees passing the buck. If she complained to Animal Control and nothing happened for weeks, how dare they refuse to give her information on the case?

I, too, would like to know where the buck stops, and how to volunteer to assist with this problem. I've been a guardian ad litem for children; maybe we need a similar program for animals

Carolyn Lassiter
Greensboro

There can be no doubt about the exercise of free speech in this fair land. Note these words about our president and vice president in Maureen Dowd's column in the News & Record on Jan. 30:

"Has anyone in the history of the United States ever been so singularly wrong and misguided about such phenomenally important events and continued to insist he's right in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? ... It is W. and Vice who learned no lessons from Vietnam, probably because they worked so hard to avoid going ... They are consumed by the fear of looking as if they don't have guts, when they should be compelled by the desire to look as if they have brains."

In many countries, those statements would land you in prison or worse. Long live the United States of America.

James R. Hunter
Greensboro

North Carolina laws do not protect anyone, not even children, from more than 4,000 chemicals, 50 of which are known to cause cancer or to be toxic to humans. In fact, some legal experts interpret a current North Carolina law, passed in 1993, as disallowing local governments from prohibiting smoking in public buildings. This law favors the tobacco industry at the expense of our health.

Tobacco smoke does not change chemical composition just because it's called "secondhand," and it is no less harmful to humans. Recently the U.S Surgeon General reported on the health hazards of secondhand smoke, many of which had been reported in 1986 by a prior Surgeon General.

The Surgeon General also determined that there is no safe amount of tobacco smoke.

Therefore, smoking around nonsmokers puts those nonsmokers at risk, and no amount of air filtration or dilution makes it safe, according to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Unfortunately, many smokers refuse to believe the Surgeon General and reputable scientists. For this reason, there ought to be a law that would protect us.

Stan Meyer
Greensboro

I have read the News & Record for many years and have seen numerous letters about the liberal media by conservatives complaining about various editorial writers. I'm surprised that no one has commented on Mona Charen. Her column must come right out of the president's public relations material.

I suspect that every war in history has had citizens that did not favor it. So what is different with Iraq? Yes, it does give the enemy some hope that we are a house divided, but that is our privilege as Americans. It's time that we decided if this war is a benefit to America and worth the sacrifice that has been made and will continue to be made.

Congress is just taking the position that its constituents have elected their representatives to do. Are you listening, Elizabeth Dole?

C. R. Hendrix
Colfax

Isn't there something wrong here? The United States goes into the Iraq war and shares in the cost of annihilating and destroying the country under the guise of saving the country from itself? Then we are compelled to share in the rebuilding of the same country to the tune of billions of our dollars.

Isn't there a saner approach? Perhaps we should be using our own tax money on our own people and social problems that are crying to be addressed.

Ann O. Brown
Greensboro

One of the most puzzling elements in the truly distressing events now unfolding around the football players and Palestinian students at Guilford College is, why a Guilford College official, in violation of the school's policies of open debate and support of diversity, would write a letter only to students of "color," as stated, and religious and cultural difference. That letter, already in public record, would appear to be almost inflammatory. How very, very sad.

This is a campus that upholds public discourse and traditionally values differences of opinion. What better spotlight for dramatizing racism, prejudice and religious outrage on a campus that decries all of those faults. It happened once before. Remember 1997, when a student "staged" her own mugging as being "racially motivated"?

I have little doubt that Guilford College will handle this matter with the grace, aplomb and heartfelt concern for "justice for all" that it has exhibited throughout its truly admirable history.

Lonnie Groendes
Greensboro

The controversy about the Guilford College situation is pathetic. Why is everyone focusing on how this could happen at a Quaker school? This should not have happened at any school, anywhere. Racism is wrong, period.

If this had been N.C. A&T and a bunch of black football players beat up a few white people, we all know how this would end up.

No matter what color anybody is, this should not have happened and the penalty should be expulsion for those who are guilty. Maybe then they would know that life has consequences.

I think Guilford College should go back to Quaker qualities that have obviously been lost. Athletes should live among all the students so they do not feel as if they are different or better. They are not. All should be there to get an education. I hope the school does the right thing and shows others that nothing like this will be tolerated at that school or anywhere else.

Felicia Wright
McLeansville

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Bill Tidwell

I enjoy the cartoons on the editorial page, but one appearing Jan. 26 was so off base I need to respond. It showed a couple strolling with their baby. The father says they need to buy some health insurance so they can get a big tax cut. The wife responds with "We don't pay taxes."

Politicians have convinced almost everyone that our "progressive" tax code does not tax anyone until their earnings reach a certain level. Baloney. Everyone pays tax on income from the first dollar earned.

Payroll taxes of 7.65 percent are withheld beginning with the first dollar earned. Approximately 15 percent of the price of any product or service includes embedded taxes companies have added to cover taxes they have to pay (and you thought companies paid taxes; only people pay taxes). Thus, almost 23 percent of every dollar goes to taxes before a worker makes enough for the government to start withholding.

There is a bill before Congress that would allow every wage earner to receive 100 percent of what he earns (less local and state deductions). HR25, The Fair Tax Proposal, eliminates income taxes, FICA taxes, gift, estate and capital gains taxes and replaces all of these revenues with a national sales tax on new goods and services at the retail level.

To make HR25 progressive and provide for low-income wage earners, a prebate would be paid each month to every person who has a Social Security number, to offset the amount of tax he would pay for goods and services up to the poverty level.

HR25 already has 39 co-sponsors including Rep. Sue Myrick from North Carolina. I have written Congressman Howard Coble several times. He responds that he can't co-sponsor the bill because he isn't a member of the committee with tax jurisdiction. I don't believe a representative has to be a committee member to sponsor a bill. I will continue to urge his support.

You can get more information about HR25 at Fairtax.org. I am a grass-roots volunteer for the tax and can be reached at (336) 656-3992 or at bbtidwell@yahoo.com.

The writer lives in Browns Summit.

Uncontrolled growth outstripping its support system…

Dysfunctional growth harming its surroundings…

Unwelcome growth benefiting only itself…

To physicians this defines cancer.

To homeowners this is the Westridge Road rezoning request.

An inappropriate change at the request of a speculator will be decided at Monday's Greensboro Zoning Commission hearing. Near-universal neighbor opposition is mounting to a proposal to cram as many townhouses as legally possible onto two scenic lots, a zoning change unlike anything within about nine square miles.

The most important fallout of this request is not just unwelcome, out-of-character change in a stable neighborhood, but the legal precedent that requires approval of similar requests all along Westridge. Then, similar changes are more likely along other signature Greensboro byways.

As Westridge opens for over­development, crowded new houses will require expensive water/sewer/traffic upgrades. Widening two-lane Westridge will be more costly and difficult than the prolonged mess that is West Friendly. Claxton and Jefferson Elementary schools may be buying lots of trailers. Historic neighborhoods only arise when they are defended. Preserving character and renovating homes preserves the health of a balanced neighborhood.

Join in opposing shortsighted overdevelopment. Learn more at StopWestridgeRezoning.com.

Larry Puzio
Greensboro

This letter concerns John Edwards running for president.

He is an embarrassment to the people of North Carolina. What did he do for us besides using us as a steppingstone in his quest to conquer the world? He led us to believe he would do the best for North Carolina, but what did he do? And, oh yeah, when we were attacked on Sept. 11 and protecting America was popular, he was all for the war in Iraq. Then he, like all Democrats, had to choose between what's right for America and what would make him popular; he chose the latter.

Sounds a lot like a Clinton or maybe even a Kennedy.

Jeff Marshall
Greensboro

I have only one comment. I believe anyone as self-centered as Dianne Bellamy-Small appears to be should not be holding a public office that is supposed to be representing the people of her district. She behaved like a spoiled brat regarding the selection of the office she would be using.

Annette Clark
Greensboro

In recent letters from William Oden (Jan. 17) and Alex Cheek (Jan. 23), Robert E. Lee was put forward as a hero. If Lee was a hero, one must consider him a Confederate hero, not a hero of the United States of America.

Lee served in the U.S. Army for 30 years, yet in 1861, when Confederate forces fired on the forces of the United States, Lee turned his back on his nation and became a Confederate. Lee sent captured American soldiers to Andersonville prison and directed operations contributing to the deaths of more than 400,000 men fighting for the United States. After meeting Lee at Appomattox, Gen. Grant said of Lee that no man ever fought for a worse cause.

Two other Virginians, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, founded a country based on the philosophy that all men are created equal. Lee fought to create a country based on a system of inequality. When the Civil War started, the nation was half-slave, half-free. With the defeat of the Confederacy, slavery was over. Lee fought to prevent this change. He was no hero.

Jim Brooks
Archdale

Recently, letters have been published supporting President Bush's decision to invade Iraq and his rationale for continuing our presence there.

It is puzzling how people can do this in the face of mounting evidence about this ill-advised war. It is abundantly clear it was started under false pretenses and has been ineptly pursued.

Now, the president seeks to escalate it in the face of congressional and public opposition. He has tried to mold public opinion by obfuscation and outright lies in the past. He is continuing now. The cost to the nation of this manner of leadership has resulted in a loss of faith in government and in the people who were elected to lead us. The ultimate cost, though, has been in the lives of those who chose to put country first.

If the supporters of Bush and his administration tuned in to the "The NewsHour" on PBS and watched the parade of fallen military personnel often shown at its end, they might rethink their position. If they thoughtfully considered the loss to society of these, our most dedicated citizens, they would decide to hold our president and his party responsible rather than to blindly support them.

R. Allen Walton
Ruffin

As a senior college student, I see engagement season on the horizon for many of my peers. Although this is a joyous time and one worth celebrating, I can't help but think about the reasons behind their decisions to get married at such a young age. In my opinion, anyone who feels the pull to get married right out of college is stuck in society's fairy tale about rings, weddings and marriages.

At a young age, girls start thinking about their future husband and their wedding day. They are fed images and lies by media and family and, poof, the fairy tale has sprung into their minds and won't budge. As adults, too many women unconsciously believe that once their fairy tale has begun, their problems will disappear, as if their fairy godmother was there with her magic wand.

The truth is marriage just doesn't work that way. Pay attention to the marriages that surround your life and you'll see firsthand that divorce rates are up.

So here's my proposal to my generation who feel the urge to get hitched, pop out babies and grow old with someone: Take the time to think about how you define marriage and how you want your story to go. Don't accept society's fairy tale definitions and ideas. Create your own and turn the trend of divorce rates around.

Chrysecolla Taico
Greensboro

I am a Democrat. I never voted for Bush and was against going to war from day one. I believe he lied to us and had his own agenda in mind.

At work, everyone was upset with me because I spoke out against the president and said he had no idea what can of worms he was opening. Terrorist, everyone cried. Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, I said.

That can of worms is open, however, and I do not believe that we can cut and run. If we do, we will see more bloodshed and tyranny than we can imagine. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I believe we should send more troops. That region must come under control and if we leave it, it will explode into a mess that only another evil person like Saddam Hussein (or worse) will try to gain control of.

Shame on Bush for putting us in this position. He should be impeached for his actions, and I have no doubt will be tried for war crimes when he leaves office. Nonetheless, we cannot leave. Not yet. The world's security depends on what we allow to happen there.

Patty Murphy
High Point

Is there some particular reason why you interviewed our elected representatives in Washington but failed to ask a single question about why some of them voted in a manner contrary to our best interests?

After all, we know Howard Coble voted in favor of allowing oil companies to pay below fair market value for oil extracted from public lands. What we don't know is why Howard thinks Big Oil should not fairly compensate taxpayers for their property.

Why did Dole and Burr not only oppose raising the minimum wage but also vote to abolish the minimum wage completely?

Since we taxpayers pay them a generous salary of around $76 an hour, why do they oppose paying us one-tenth of that hourly wage?

I think these are questions we have a right to have answered. Any word when you will start asking them?

David Allen
High Point

Another demand and childish behavior by Dianne Bellamy-Small prompted me to write in response to her refusing to cooperate with other members of the City Council again. They, the council, tried to do the right and democratic thing in determining office space available to each of them by drawing numbers. Available is the key word here.

Bellamy-Small decided she did not even want the corner space given to her by Tom Phillips. No, she wants an office that is already occupied.
She refused to take a lie-detector test like the other members. Now she refuses to take the offered office.

When will the City Council and the city of Greensboro wake up? What has she done for those she is supposed to be representing? How dare she demand another office occupied by someone else?

It is time to call for her resignation so progress can be made without her bellyaching. All that her actions prove is that she is a demanding, self-centered, illogical person whom the council no longer needs.

Come on, Greensboro, stand up for what is right. Demand the removal of Bellamy-Small. It is way past due.

Ellen Simmons
Greensboro

I'd like to respond to the Jan. 17 letter, "We should appreciate Bush while we can."

It's amazing to me that anyone could still believe that it was justified to go into Iraq, that polls are simply wrong and that millions still support Bush. The letter stated, "Whom do you choose?": the sexual scandal of Clinton, or Bush, a man of integrity.

It seems the sexual indiscretions of the previous president pale in comparison to the undermining of civil liberties, condoning of torture, not to mention thousands of lives lost. Bush is not a man of integrity. The ego and arrogance of the Republican Bush/Cheney years have been a disaster.

The Republicans believe they know what's best for the rest of the world and that it's our job to change it, by force if necessary. Millions of people continue to be killed by dictators and lawless regimes. Surely, true Christians can't believe it's our job to correct the entire world's violence with more violence.

Extremist Muslims don't hate us for our freedom. They hate us because extremists in this country have taken a blind position of support for Israel and a stance against Muslims. This religion-based political policy has led to thousands of lives being lost.

Randy Barnes
Greensboro

Interesting to read about the decision of the mayor and the white members of the City Council not to accept the work done by the Human Relations Commission on the report from the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I am confident the HRC spent some valuable time working on its recommendations.

I was present at the informal City Council meeting last summer, as were about 30 others, at which eight of the nine council members were present (Florence Gatten was attending her sick mother in Florida).

When following a discussion about acknowledging the acceptance of the report, the mayor asked John Shaw, also present, to take the report to the Human Relations Commission. The HRC was to return with the recommendations from that group they thought the city should act on.

The council members present concurred with the mayor's request to Shaw. What has changed between then and now?

Barbara P. Walker
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Tony Watts

Leonard Pitts Jr. made a recent but feeble attempt (column, Jan. 22) to compare Muslim taxi drivers who refused to "carry passengers carrying alcohol because Islam frowns upon liquor" with Christian pharmacists who refused to fill requests for the "morning after pill," the now popular "abortion pill."

Now, I'll be the first to agree that analogies are great tools and the writer who uses them properly is all the better for it. What I don't understand is how anybody, including Mr. Pitts, can compare a taxi driver's refusal to give someone a ride with a pharmacist's refusal to take part in the death of an unborn child.

Well, forgive me if I think for myself here; but Pitts made the same categorical error that a friend of mine once made. Our discussion at that time centered around Fred Phelps, the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church, who set up camp near the funerals of fallen military personnel and shouted anti-war slogans at the mourners.

There's a lot you can say about such activity; but speaking from a pastor's perspective, it's just plain stupid. I understand the anger that such foolishness engenders and at that point my friend and I were on the same page, even adding a few labels of our own to express our outrage.

All such agreement disappeared, however, when this same friend equated Phelps' activity to that of the murderous "Taliban."

I just didn't get it. In my mind, a rogue preacher was a far cry from a Talibanic murderer. In fact, I saw absolutely no comparison between hurling words at a group of people and chucking grenades at the same group.

Pitts' analogy is just as absurd. A cabbie's refusal to give a ride to an "alcohol carrying customer" in no way compares to a pharmacist's refusal to aid the destruction of innocent life. Both are refusals and both are religiously based, but that is as close as they get.

In keeping with such stretches of the imagination, I can think of a few more of Pitts' worthy analogies. Try comparing a four-year old, back-talking toddler to the horror-movie-doll-turned-killer "Chuckie;" or, Pitts himself to Rosie O'Donnell. After all, except for their hair, race and sex, they're identical.

No doubt, the proper use of analogy can serve a writer well. But as Pitts' improper use reveals, a bad analogy is as distorting as its right use is enlightening.

The writer lives in Thomasville and can be reached at twatts2@triad.rr.com.

To all Greensboro citizens who are or hope to become homeowners in neighborhoods zoned for single-family residences: Your neighbors on Westridge Road and surrounding areas need your help.

A developer wants to rezone some RS-15 and RS-12 lots to RM-5, which means multi-family housing. Please support us in objecting to their request. Duplexes, condos and apartments would not be compatible with the character of the Westridge area. If this rezoning happens in our area, it will happen in yours.

Let your city and county representatives and the news media know of your opposition to these requests.

Please show up at the Feb. 12, 2 p.m. Zoning Commission meeting in City Council chambers. Thank- you from your Westridge area friends and neighbors.

Bob and Marge Powell
Greensboro

Yes, we will have to build a new jail. Yes, we will have to pay for this jail. No to paying for it with bonds or certificates. Both methods will lead to only property owners covering this project and paying interest on the loan. Here’s the real question: How many prisoners in jail are property owners? My bet is a very low percentage.

So, why will property owners be asked to shell out more money? A pay-as-we-go sales tax is the only fair option. Everyone, including criminals, purchases products in Guilford County. This way we all share in the process, as well as visitors who expect law enforcement while in our county.

The excuse that the state will never approve a sales tax increase is the wrong attitude. If citizens contact the Guilford legislative delegation and push this request, it can happen. Do this or pay for the jail costs, plus interest, with your property taxes for the next 20 years. Let inmates sleep in your jail for free and never contribute to the process.

Sales tax is a bad word, but not as bad as property tax.

Carl Allen
Gibsonville

Praise the Lord. The prettiest sights I’ve seen in quite a while are the new working stoplights in the heart of Colfax. It took many years of pleading, scary moments, wrecks and praying, but the Highway Department finally came through. Hopefully, this will slow down those who have their speedometers set at 55 to 65 no matter where or what. There are 35 mph signs visible all through Colfax.

My heartfelt thanks go to each and everyone who had a hand in getting these put up. The turning lanes are lifesavers, also. I certainly feel safer.

Patty Potts
Colfax

Now that the N.C. Council of State has met to discuss the involvement of physicians in the process of executing condemned criminals, an interesting thought comes to mind.

It appears that state law and court rulings require that a doctor be present to ensure that the condemned do not suffer during the execution process. That requirement appears to be at odds with a 2006 N.C. Medical Society ruling that prohibits physicians from participating in executions.

I expect it may have slipped the minds of the members of the state council, and if it ends up that physicians indeed may not participate in executions, that the same reasoning should apply to the hundreds of physicians across our state who make handsome profits operating the bloody abattoirs of the N.C. abortion industry. Of course, executing those who have not had a chance at a full-term life is just too lucrative a business to stop. Perhaps we could get around the problems of executions by referring to them as late-term abortions. Who would care — and the money would continue to flow in.

Ian A. Millar
Kernersville

I am glad that your column (David Hoggard) comes with a picture of you smiling, because you are definitely a joke.

Your column, “Let’s stop playing the race card,” (Jan. 30) had me rolling on the floor from laughter. Anyone who knows the history of the racial relationships in the city of Greensboro also knows the race card is comparable to the big joker in a spades game.

Stop hiding the race relationships in Greensboro and maybe the proper reflection of accord will exist when it pertains to housing, education, and unemployment … just to name a few.

However, I doubt that it will ever happen because of the relic majority of people who share similar views.

James Witherspoon
Apex

The following is a Counterpoint

By Evelyn Parks

Greensboro residents are fortunate our city is growing. In the Jan. 31 News & Record, Margaret Moffett Banks reported the city is planning to redevelop the High Point Road/Lee Street corridor from Four Seasons to downtown.

At a meeting last week of concerned citizens and city officials, the corridor was described as less than desirable, and as an area that presents a seedy, run-down appearance. Some of the reasons given are litter, dilapidated buildings, lack of open space, panhandlers and homeless people.

Dilapidated buildings aren’t desirable. Neither is the existence of people living in poverty in the middle of our prosperous city.

My hope is that citizens will attempt to reach out to those in poverty rather than push them to other areas.

Contractors who rebuild the corridor could get tax and other incentives to hire and train poor and low-income people frequenting the area.

Possibilities for redevelopment include: building attractive and affordable low-income housing; offering loans to set up small businesses such as a recycling center; establishing learning centers to teach computer and reading skills, and setting up a center to assist veterans.

Change the emphasis from “curbside appeal” to programs for empowering the poor. Let us establish a permanent two-year plan that offers affordable housing, health care and job training to a significant number of poor and low-income people.

My hope is for the city to bring in the homeless and panhandlers, and empower them as well as the corridor itself. Help the people as well as the landscape.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

As one of the parents quoted in your article on the Guilford school district's plans for students with autism, I want to thank you for your attention to this critically important topic ("District set to hear plans for autistic," Feb. 6).

However, I'd like to point out that using terms such as "autistic" emphasizes one singular facet of who these children are, in effect placing their disability before their personhood.

My son has big blue eyes, a silly sense of humor, a love of animals, a knack for computers and autism; his disability is only one piece of a very colorful picture. A "disabled" car is broken, nonfunctional. I don't know any people who fit that description -- though I have friends with disabilities, whose diagnoses have little to do with the bright, inspiring people they are.

"People-first" language goes a long way toward changing people's perceptions of those with disabilities. So does the opportunity to be educated alongside them. Inclusive school programs aren't right for every child with autism or other developmental disorders. However, many of these children will grow up to work, play and live alongside typically developing peers.

To shelter students from one another unnecessarily during their formative years is a disservice to children with and without disabilities.

Brooke Juneau
Greensboro

It was wonderful to see the News & Record's second "Wingding" feature (Savor, Jan. 31). I was immediately disappointed, however, that the selection of contenders appeared not to be an attempt to present the "best of the best" as was most evident by the omission of the Minj Grille from the list.

It was not surprising that only one entrant in your batch received an "A" rating from a panelist. C'mon guys, you know the Minj Grille. It's within walking distance of the paper and has take-out along with its own pleasant atmosphere and gracious service.

No, I don't work for the Minj Grille, but their wings are different; they're the full three-piece wing, not just a single scrawny section. I've tried wings all over town over the past 15 years and found the Minj wings meaty and full-flavored and a favorite even of friends who normally would not order wings.

Thanks for venturing into this "hot" topic. But folks like me, who are wing addicts, really take this seriously. So, how 'bout a rematch? I hereby volunteer for the panel.

Rick Hollowell
Greensboro

Editor's note: We had planned to include the Minj Grille, but they were closed at lunchtime on the day of the taste-off. We'll try again next year, and please send us names of other places we should try.

Is there progress in Iraq? Are we making a positive difference? It depends on whom you ask.

For those of you who question our successes, I invite you to visit www.centcom.mil. Just a "few" of the things we have accomplished:

* more than 4,000 building projects;

* increased electric power;

* 838 new schools;

* 295 police facilities;

* 246 border forts;

* 2.2 million barrels of oil production per day;

* 422,000 cubic meters of water treatment per day;

* seven primary health care centers;

* 239 kilometers of village roads;

* implementation of a "911" service for more than 12 million Iraqis.

Observe with awe the "reconstruction map" and you will understand how our work in Iraq is described as being equivalent to the Marshall Plan.

Please don't ever doubt the resolve of this president and your military.

Is life perfect in Iraq? No.

Is it worth our support? I think yes.

Geoffrey King
Greensboro

I don't believe any of us in the Westridge neighborhood oppose progress or development. We are certain, however, that changing a neighborhood like Westridge Road from single-family to multi-family zoning is neither progress nor intelligent development.

In the 16 years we've lived on Westridge Road, we've seen substantial change. Many of the large lots with one house have been sold, sometimes to developers, who have replaced the single house with three or four new homes; in other instances to young families, who have renovated the existing home through their own efforts and expense. This is reasonable change and development. Rezoning Westridge to allow a single lot to hold 16 townhouses is neither reasonable nor an example of progress.

As a city, we have to make decisions about how we're going to grow and change. Are we going to grow and build with the ideal of keeping some of the "Green" in Greensboro, or will we allow the frantic rush to develop to continue, until the charm and beauty of our city that drew so many of us here no longer exists?

Robert and Karen Luisana
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Ruth Mary Weston

Oh, Lord, have mercy. Thomas Sowell's got me going again ("The fallacy of 'greed' in economics," Jan. 25). I've sacrificed an urgently needed haircut to gain time to rebut yet another illogical appeal to our logic. He would appreciate my economic decision: I value the chance to debate above the chance (however slim) to look decent.

It's obvious my decision involves emotion, and every company selling something knows emotion is the main purchasing motivation. Otherwise, TV commercials would be nothing but dry lists of features, benefits and prices. Instead, ad spending on network TV alone is projected at $153 billion in 2007.

Sowell says emotion has no place in judging economic transactions, but I've never seen him object to its use in ads. I'll let you compile your own lengthy list of ads that appeal to our basest emotions, then decide for yourself whether "greed" might motivate discounting their obvious negative impact on our social mores.

So, what about "greed" and CEO compensation? Charles O'Reilly, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, says, "All the economists would have us believe there is a very active labor market for CEOs, and the reason they're getting paid so much is that that's what they're supposed to be paid. That's not very likely. It's pretty clear that social psychology accounts for a reasonable amount of what is happening."

Unlike Sowell, O'Reilly acknowledges this truth: Human brains are wired such that nobody can use just the parts he wants involved in a given situation. I can deny and repress thoughts and emotions, but they continue to affect my decisions under the radar. Successful advertising relies on this. Outlandish, logic-defying CEO compensation confirms it.

Sorry, Mr. Sowell, wrong again.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Here we go again. Every time a new project is considered, as is the expanded jail, the cost of funding revolves around issuing new bonds or taxes, typical for government at its best.

Has the thought ever occurred to our elected officials of reducing spending by being more efficient with our current tax dollars, eliminating obsolete departments, hiring freeze or firing employees for low performance, as examples? Government at all levels is unique. It can increase revenues, pensions and health benefits by adding new taxes.

Our local government officials need to think and act like big business and balance the bottom line.

Bob Chase
Greensboro

A Jan. 20 editorial, "Urban hunting plan frightens some people," took an unfavorable stance on urban deer hunting, specifically by citing a statement from Councilman Tom Phillips that included: "… We're not about to let them hunt deer with bows and arrows in someone's front yard." What a shortsighted, uninformed response.

Urban here simply means within Greensboro city limits, which include ample areas of wooded and remote private land where property owners should have every right to legally bowhunt in season.

In a follow-up article Jan. 31, Ramon Bell pointed out what any hunter (but apparently not Councilman Phillips) knows: Hunting for deer with a bow is not something that is going to occur in someone's front yard. Hunting regulations specify appropriate distances that must be maintained from houses and roads, whether using a firearm or a bow. This, coupled with the short range that bowhunting entails (30 yards maximum), makes unwanted encounters with non-hunters highly unlikely.

What the state's Wildlife Resources Commission proposes, and urban leaders should objectively consider, is a controlled, well-regulated bowhunting season for licensed hunters on private lands within Greensboro's vast city limits. It is a reasonable approach to the growing deer population in our area.

Peter Allen
Greensboro

Count yourself extremely lucky if in your lifetime you meet someone you can compare to a huge tree in a forest.

Bill Seawell was such a person who spent his lifetime making Greensboro a better place to live. His many contributions and deeds will long be remembered by family, friends and many acquaintances. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Bobby and June Payne
Greensboro

In the six years that our children have been attending Triangle Lake Montessori School, Sandy O'Ham has been an integral part of their education. She is always smiling and really means it when she greets students with, "Good morning, friends."

But now, because of a one-size-doesn't-fit-all educational policy, she has been forced out of the classroom.

Any problems with writing that kept her from passing the No Child Left Behind test certainly have not kept her from being a great teacher's aide and friend to everyone at Triangle Lake.

Beth Woodard
Jamestown

As boardings continue to decline and prices continue to rise, airlines are still ignoring PTI when they plan new or enhanced service.

On Feb. 5, a startup stand-alone airline called Express-Jet began announcing its lineup of new destinations. PTI isn't among them, but RDU is with nonstop service to several cities, giving passengers more reasons to drive to RDU.

Virgin America, grounded by politics for 18 months but hoping to fly soon, has "leaked" some proposed destinations and PTI isn't among its choices, either. According to its Web site, Virgin America has asked the travel industry to get behind its license applications with letters to the Senate and House. The RDU airport authority has supported the application and could well be rewarded with new service. I can't find any such letter of support from the PTI airport authority.

A few years ago, the Piedmont Triad area thought it could draw enough support to lure a Major League Baseball team. Why can't the Airport Authority convince a new or growing existing airline that it could attract passengers and make money at PTI?

Brian Robinson
Greensboro

Since the Guilford College students and friend that were allegedly attacked by football players reported the attack to local police, why not let the authorities handle the case? The reaction by students reminds me of the 1997 incident at Guilford when a student claimed she was attacked by racists. That turned out to be a hoax.

If the attackers are guilty, they should be punished. However, it is unfair to condemn all Guilford student-athletes and the athletic programs at Guilford. Let the rule of law prevail.

Ron Nease
Richmond, Va.

The writer is a member of the Guilford class of 1961.

It's possible that some students have adopted the model and method of strong resolve of the current, temporary, Decider-in-Chief to coerce, loot and plunder anyone who is "not for them."

The same model employs Tasers and pepper spray in subsidized institutions to threaten and subdue any coerced student who doesn't share the same resolve.

The institution is frequented by minions of the sponsor who propose that coerced students enlist in an effort to help fight evildoers and risk being dismembered or, worse, unremembered in an effort to find WMDs, an axis of evil, to fight against an enemy they are told will run at the first whiff of gunpowder and welcome them as liberators.

Despite the efforts of dedicated educators and advocates of our young people, this mixed message must cause some conflict, not only among students but for anyone who utilizes the model of encroachment to retaliate against anyone who is "not for them." The idea that this is a "community problem" conflicts with my moral intuition.

Chuck Atkinson
Greensboro

Thirty-four years ago, Jan. 21, 1973, the American holocaust was passed into law.

As result of Roe v. Wade, the lives of 43 million babies have been taken in the United States.

Approximately 1.3 million babies died in 2005, which means 3,600 babies died every day. That's 150 deaths per hour, or one baby every 21/2 minutes.

I guess no one cares. That's why there was no coverage on any TV station or in any newspaper so people could see the thousands who marched for life on Jan. 22 in Washington, D.C.

It also means that there are fewer workers spending, saving and investing their wages in the national economy. Just so you know.

Janet O'Hara
Greensboro

At the Jan. 27 march against the war in Iraq, a pale blond girl's cardboard sign read on one side: "Sgt. Nathaniel J. Nyren." The other side read, "I lost my Dad in Iraq."

Who can count the lives lost in Iraq? The current administration refuses to, but others know we must try.

More than 3,065 American families could hold a sign like Nyren's daughter; 426,000 Iraqi families could as well. That is the low estimate from Lancet, the British medical journal, and includes civilian deaths from failed water, food and medical supplies — the chaos of war.

There are still more deaths tied to the Iraq war, as an analysis by David Leonhart shows, because the $120 billion annual war costs cannot go to services that save lives. We did not spend $100 billion providing health care to uninsured Americans, so untold lives were constricted, lost. More died because we didn't double the $6 billion annual spending on cancer research. Most costly, the $600 million needed to immunize children around the world to prevent deaths from TB, tetanus, polio and diphtheria was not spent.

To the terrible loss of life in Iraq, we must add those who died because money that could have saved their lives was diverted for war.

Anne Cassebaum
Elon

So few writers have the ability to lead their readers from the beginning to the ending of their writings. Many staff writers are satisfied to cobble together snippets from previously published materiel with little thought to personal input or the flow of their article.

Richard Barron and Michelle Jarboe, with their "Credit Trap" article (Feb. 4), are exceptions. They obviously did a lot of legwork in interviewing their sources and then spending considerable time in composing, reviewing and rewriting.

A masterful job that deserves recognition.

Bill Thornton
Mebane

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Kenneth Trager

I find the school district spin and news coverage of the student tutoring program for suspended students to be quite interesting. I was involved in establishing a virtually identical program in Syracuse, N.Y., five years ago, where I was a tutor in the program for three years before moving to Greensboro.

With 36 years of experience as a secondary social studies teacher, it made sense to me to try to get more information about this new program in the Triad and volunteer some thoughts or even tutoring time. I was mistaken. No calls were returned and there was no apparent interest whatsoever in obtaining input about what seems to work or not work with programs like this.

The news coverage on News 12 was even more interesting. Raving about a program that had two students present with no track record of success, the TV reporter interviewed a counselor who talked about students who had been suspended eventually mentoring other students. This raised a number of questions:

Why does this program take place in a religious building rather than a public school facility? Why is the "head" of the program a minister instead of a certified public school employee? How can the district justify spending more than $90,000 on "students" who have already cost the district extra time, effort and resources? Has anyone done a study on the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of programs like this? What about students who are without transportation to get to the program or without parents or guardians who care enough to drop them off? Don't they count? How are fighting issues, weapons issues and gang territorial issues dealt with?

I really wish someone had called so that I could have shared some of the issues we had to deal with and how we attempted to do so.

Side note 1: The program in Syracuse ended this year because it was cost-ineffective and had virtually no impact on suspension rates or results on statewide testing.

Side note 2: Students are suspended for disciplinary reasons, not racial reasons. Until school districts start dealing with that reality, no extra programs will matter.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

David Brooks (column, Feb. 6) tells us that, as part of an effort to teach at all the colleges he could not have gotten into, he taught a political theory course at Duke this past fall.

He goes on to discuss papers he received from students in that class though he doesn't tell us how big the class was), and he then draws broad conclusions based on that sample of responses ("If my Duke students are representative, then the United States is about to see a generation that is …").

It is highly unlikely that 1) students at Duke, 2) taking a political theory course, 3) from a well-known conservative like David Brooks are "representative" of college students (they may not even be representative of Duke students). Brooks should take a course instead of teaching one. Any introductory social science course, at Duke or anywhere else, would help him understand some important things about sampling and the self-serving answers that can result from skewed data.

Richie Zweigenhaft
Greensboro

"The Diane Rehm Show" on NPR is full of gems. On Feb. 2, someone was talking about Bush having described himself all week, in all his messages, as "the decider," "the commander in chief." And the speaker wanted so much to remind him that he is "commander in chief" of the military, not of the nation, not of the people. He said the 30,000 people standing around the White House screaming, singing, yelling, flag waving, sign-carrying on a recent Saturday reminded us that "the people" are "the deciders," not the president.

The speaker wished there were people out chanting and flag waving daily just to remind him and all of us of that fact. President Bush can be the "commander in chief" of the military, but, we, the people, are "the deciders."

Let us be heard, and let our message influence his decisions.

Gay Cheney
Browns Summit

Greensboro has lost one of its giants. Bill Seawell passed away on Jan. 31 after a battle with cancer. His professional resume is beyond peer. President of many of the city's most important business, volunteer and professional organizations was only the beginning of his accomplishments. He was also a successful business owner. But that is not the real story of Bill Seawell.

He was a caring, compassionate, giving man who will be sorely missed because of the tremendous personal traits he possessed. And it was those personal traits that made him so successful in so many ventures.

His family will certainly miss him the most. So will the city of Greensboro. But those of us who admire the qualities of integrity, friendship, warmth and caring in a person will miss him for those characteristics. We can only hope that someone with those same strengths will replace him on this earth. It will be hard.

Bill Seawell was one-of-a-kind. He was a true friend to many, many people. Including me.

Bill Brooks
Greensboro

In our country's history, it has never suffered as much disgrace and ill will as it has under this incompetent, bumbling president and vice president. Water under the bridge; we are where we are. But this group of boobs has almost two more years to continue their "evil doings."

If we were a parliamentary democracy, we could have a vote of no confidence and put in place a new government. But we are not a parliamentary democracy. It is up to us to scream loud and clear that we need to impeach these horrid characters before we find ourselves in more contrived wars, endure more losses of our liberties and way of life, and see more decent public servants replaced by ideologues who will continue to try to force other nations to act as they want them to act, and to force us to live as they want us to live.

Fellow Christians, I appeal to you to see that you have put these people in office. Do what is right and work to put them out of office. The hundreds of thousands of deaths that they have caused is a reflection of the votes that were cast for them.

Whatever happened to "Thou shalt not kill"? Stop the killing, stop the lies, stop the abuse of power and stop these madmen from further abuses and degradation of our country. Work to impeach both Bush and Cheney now.

Fred Riek
Jamestown

I just finished reading the wonderful article by Bryan Greeson: "Parents: Take cues from 'Greatest Generation' " (News & Record, Feb. 6).

I have known Bryan and his family all my life. They are such a fine family and are an important part of our community and church. I wholeheartedly agree with him on the observations he made in the article about the generation of our parents, who lived through such a difficult time in our country.

If today's parents are willing, we can all learn a lot from this generation which truly is the Greatest Generation.

Thank you, Bryan, for some words of wisdom that we should all take to heart.

Linda L. Aydelette
Greensboro

Banning the use of trans fats in cooking in Guilford County (or any county) is not only a terrible idea, it is a fascist idea. How can I possibly compare banning trans fats to Nazi Germany? Quite easily, actually.

When the government becomes involved in dictating to people what they are able to eat or should eat on any level, there is, unfortunately, no end to such an endeavor. Why would it end with trans fat?

Heck, perhaps we should let the government tell us what to eat for every meal. Why shouldn't they? If they know what's better for us than we do for ourselves, why not let them order all of our meals for us? Mmm … delicious gruel!

I don't think those in support of banning trans fats realize what they are doing, or what they are advocating.

I would recommend that they rule with an iron fist in their own families rather than trying to make the rest of the county follow their every whim.

Dane Scalise
Greensboro

A few quotes from the Web site www.american.edu/TED/cats.htm may be of interest:

• "A single pair of breeding cats … can exponentially produce 420,000 offspring in a seven-year period" (Hartwell #1, 1-2).

• "Feral cats may be responsible, fully or in part, for the extinction, near extinction or local extinction of 39 different species in Australia" (Mydans, 1).

• "They (cats) have been known to carry rabies, toxoplasmosis, sarcosporidiosis and ringworm … Human beings are also at risk" (Ficarra, 1).

• "Statewide (in Calif.) more than $50 million (largely from taxes) is spent by animal control agencies and shelters for cat-related expenses" (Feral Cat Coalition).

It is time for all people to become responsible by enacting citizen's arrests against those who disobey the law, Sec. 5-7: "Animals running at large prohibited."

People who insist upon allowing their cats to run at large should be required to install invisible electric fences to keep their cats on their own property and not bother other people. Environmentalists should ask that they be kept indoors only.

Judy Stierand
Whitsett

Regarding the comments of Jim Brooks (letter, Feb. 7):

Maybe a short history lesson is in order.

Gen. Lee owned one slave at the beginning of the war (he inherited him when he was quite old and basically just took care of him). Gen. U.S. Grant also owned one, which he freed in 1859. Grant's wife had four, whom she freed after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Lee sided with the South only because Virginia went to the South. Lee had even stated that slavery was an "evil." Slavery was not an issue until Lincoln used the emancipation to rally the North ... after suffering repeated defeats to the South.

Maybe Lee was not a hero to some, but he was intensely loyal to his country, be that the U.S. or Virginia, and deeply religious. He was just caught up in a very nasty time for our nation.
By the way, the war ended in 1865. Isn't it time to get on with our lives?

James Alcon
Greensboro

Regarding the letter from Jim Brooks (Feb. 7):
I must say I don't consider Gen. Robert E. Lee to be a hero. I consider him to be one of the greatest Americans born in this country. Brooks must have slept through his U.S. history class.

History shows us that the "War Of Northern Aggression" wasn't fought over slavery. Lee, at the time President Lincoln asked him to command the Union Army (he declined as to not fight against his fellow Virginians), owned no slaves. Before the onset of the war, he wanted slavery to be abolished. His former slaves loved and admired him so that one (William Mac Lee) went through the entire war at his side.

He was admired greatly by his fellow men, friend and foe. Even Gen. Grant said, "I would have been proud to have served with you."

Lee believed so greatly about the abolishment of slavery that he said, "I would have cheerfully lost all that I have lost by this war, and suffered all I have suffered to have this object attained."

So, I guess maybe he is a hero to a lot of us fellow Americans.

Danny Murray
Greensboro

I don't understand the attraction to John Edwards. For Republicans, the reason is obvious - he's a big government EuroSocialist. For Democrats, he couldn't even deliver his home state's electoral votes while on a national ticket. Do they want that weak a candidate?

For any thinking person: He voted to the left of Ted Kennedy - when he was there to vote at all - no centrist is he. He had one of the worst absentee rates in the Senate, but he cashed all his paychecks. He has zero foreign policy experience. He has never actually run a business nor made a payroll. His massive fortune is built mostly on junk science lawsuits as a trial lawyer.

But then again, he sure is pretty. No thanks.

Jay Callaham
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint

By Lucy Shaffer

I understand how Americans think. We think that because our governing bodies want to reduce some of the unnecessary fats in our everyday foods, that we're becoming a health obsessed nation.

Emphasis has recently been increased in the media about how men and women should be eating more healthful food and exercising. While this is true, you can do both without ending up 20 pounds or more below your suggested weight for your height. Americans have yet to find the median between excessive eating and chronic exercise.

Without taking away any of the taste of foods, the expulsion of trans fats will only make us healthier. Trans fats only give texture to the foods we love. Is it really worth the risk of hundreds of deaths every year from heart attacks, clogged arteries and high blood pressure to make our foods a little less crunchy or crispy? I think not.

I am in full agreement with the New York health department, which is banning trans fats from restaurant food. I can appreciate both sides of this argument. But if there is a solution in which we could help reduce the obesity in the United States, why not? I think that we are a nation that prides ourselves on how we can adjust to changes, political and economical, but when someone wants to come between man and his fatty foods, we become close-minded.

Extracting trans fats from foods is a great plan. Hopefully, more cities will catch on to this idea soon and our nation can begin taking the steps to becoming just as healthy as we should be.

The writer is a college student living in Winston-Salem.

Readers who call for the impeachment of George Bush because of the Iraq war have the right intention but the wrong reasons. A president does not warrant impeachment because he undertakes a war many of us don't like. Bush was completely within his constitutional prerogatives and authority, and in consonance with previous presidents, in initiating this conflict.

There are solid constitutional grounds, however, for his impeachment: He has egregiously ignored his oath and his constitutional responsibilities to defend the states against foreign invasion. The United States is and has been under continuous invasion and occupation by hundreds of thousands of Mexicans, abetted by the government of Mexico. Armed, uniformed, Mexican army units have frequently entered the United States and engaged U.S. officers in firefights. Bush is well aware of this, yet he refuses to carry out his constitutional responsibilities and take appropriate action to halt this invasion and defend his country. He obviously believes that "protect and defend" implies "except in the case of Mexicans."

His refusal to defend the borders of the United States against this foreign invasion comes very close to treason, and for this he can and should be impeached.

Don Miller
Greensboro

We appreciate Dawn Kane's recent article (Dec. 31) about the history of Art on Paper at the Weatherspoon Art Museum and, particularly, our purchase of a large cut paper "drawing" by artist Ed Pien. This acquisition was made possible through the generous contributions of members and friends of the Dillard family in honor of Edwin Rucker Dillard Jr.

Edwin Dillard was the nephew of Stark Dillard, who was first approached by Herbert S. Falk Sr. in 1965 to fund an annual national drawing exhibition.

From that fortuitous beginning, the Dillard Paper Company/xpedx and the Dillard Fund have supported this tradition, from which the nationally recognized Dillard Collection of Art on Paper has grown.

Nancy Doll
Gay Dillard

Doll is director, Weatherspoon Art Museum; Dillard is member, Weatherspoon Association Board, and chairman, Art on Paper, 2006.

Where is Amos, the prophet of old? We sure need him. Would he not cry out against the injustice apparently being fostered on Chris Dwiggins? Thanks for telling his story, “City's lowballing us, property owners say" (Feb. 6). How can this be justified? Again, the little guy gets bullied. This is not an isolated story. Thanks for letting us know.

I, too, want to see the city develop that area, and all areas, but not at the expense of those property owners who rightly deserve just compensation in view of the value of their land and having an appreciation (not depreciation) and understanding of what it costs to relocate. Greensboro, we can do better by our citizens. Sooner, not later, the little guys will rise up.

Ernest Trice Thompson
Greensboro

There is a litany of so-called offenses to the Constitution by the Bush administration: the Patriot Act, secret CIA detention centers, Guantanamo, cell snooping, etc. There is certainly much room for honest people to disagree.

Governments hell-bent on testing the limits of their charter are a menacing danger to free people. Would you believe there is a more dangerous threat than this? As we see happening in Venezuela, it's when the people themselves bargain away their freedoms.

The attack on Sept. 11, 2001, showed us the limits of government power and, ironically, in the aftermath, the sweeping authority that can be imposed. The grounding of all flights, sweeping airport and agency changes: all easily done when the people are on board.

What will we be willing to let government do if Israel-style terrorist violence comes to America? Suicide bus bombings in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles; a subway bombing in New York City, all in the same week. What freedoms would we willingly relinquish? The phrase, “fight the terrorists on their soil so we don't have to fight them here," means something. Terrorists want to come here. Saving the integrity of our Constitution may depend on us stopping them.

William Rorrer
Eden

When I was growing up, my father always shared that "my job" while I was at school was to be the very best student possible. It would seem logical that everyone's efforts to resolve the issues with the school system might be supported if the students had the opportunity and responsibility of pridefully wearing an imaginary button that said, “While here I am a student." If students don't understand that statement, let's all work to assist them. The ownership of responsibility and opportunity goes both ways.

As far as a philosophical support for this thinking, might I refer readers of this comment to “Desiderata"?

Sue McGinnis
Greensboro

I recently volunteered to proctor an EOC test at Eastern Guilford High School's School of the Deaf campus. I admire the students and faculty's ability to endure under the extraordinary circumstances that brought them to the site.

However, as a former teacher, I was disturbed to find the classroom lacking a door that separated it from the next classroom. In both classrooms, academic subjects are taught, important tests are taken, and, unfortunately, teachers' and students' voices are raised in competition.

Although this is not a permanent location for Eastern, it is the beginning of a new semester. It is important that students be provided with the best possible environment for learning. A door between the two classrooms would certainly be helpful.

L.J. Payne
Greensboro

Obesity is a growing problem in this country. On Feb. 4 in the News & Record, three articles detailed how New York City has decided to ban cooking with trans fats in its eating establishments. While some may argue this is just another thing the government is trying to control, I believe it is a necessary first step in curbing the nation's obesity problem.

Every day we hear about how our children are becoming more and more fat, and how the public does not exercise enough or eat enough healthy foods. In banning trans fats, New York has taken the first step in setting an example for the whole country. Many say that trans fats keep food fresher longer, or hold more taste, but at the rate restaurants go through food, they don't need that added ingredient.

To those who say it tastes better, most of the time it tastes the same if you use unsaturated fat, made from plant oils, or none at all.

While this plan is sure to have its critics, this country needs to put a stop to this life-threatening obesity problem caused in part by substances like trans fats. If the government has to step in, so be it.

Robbie Fisk
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Steven Taub

In the Feb. 8 News & Record, Thomas Sowell alleged that The New York Times manipulated statistics to exaggerate a trend and that this is fundamentally wrong. If his allegation is factual, he has a valid point. Every article should have at least one; there it went.

The point of such alleged manipulation is not to attack marriage but to attack the notion that a woman who chooses to be single is by definition inadequate and abnormal. Those of us who want to be married are not being criticized by the Times and never were.

Sowell is no more honest than the press he vilifies, using the term left as often as he can to equate mainstream liberals, some of whom work at the Times, with an inconsequential fringe who quotes Marx and Engels with reverence. That fringe controls nothing of consequence, emphatically including the media.

So, is his point that liberals are anti-marriage? As a lifelong liberal rapidly approaching my 25th anniversary (and knowing a whole lot of married liberal couples), I am in a better position than he is to understand just how idiotic that contention is. Unfortunately, it's the central point of his article. The idea that there are “elites" out there capable of controlling our views is patronizing nonsense.

In some ways, Sowell saves the worst for last, stating that the left has been trying to undermine families for “more than two centuries" (Marx wasn't born yet) and saying that today it takes the form of redefining marriage “to include whatever kind of people want to live together in whatever way for whatever reason." Nice subtle swipe at gays.

Let's follow this logic: The gay population ardently seeks the right to get married and raise children and he defines this as anti-marriage and anti-family? That's like saying that gay soldiers fighting for us in Iraq are anti-military.

When I was a kid, people talked about interracial marriage that way and, like gay marriage is now, interracial marriage was illegal in a lot of this country. Let's hope we outgrow this kind of bigotry in time as well.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

It is interesting how the News & Record has changed the parameters of the Guilford College "incident," which involved three Palestinian students and 15 U.S. football players, from an attack or assault (which was charged by the outnumbered Palestinians) to a "fight," implying this incident was an equal conflict. Language shapes opinion and opinion shapes outcomes.

Perhaps it would have been more correct to refer to the incident as an alleged assault, which it was. After the reluctant police or court system finally takes up the matter, the nature of the events can be determined. It is doubtful, however, that they will be determined at the Guilford College hearing, as those charged with determining what happened have the conflict of interest of working for the school whose image has suffered badly.

Brooke Neal
Greensboro

Recent articles reporting child abuse ("Woman faces charges in death of infant son," Jan. 27) and neglect ("Police: Mom left kids to dance," Jan. 31), remind me that our community is in need. Every day there are reports of child abuse and neglect. Many cases end up before a judge and a child must face court through no fault of his or her own. Thanks to the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program, these children don't go to court alone.

I am a Guardian ad Litem, which means I am a trained volunteer from the community who helps represent an abused or neglected child as the case moves through the court system. The GAL program works to place children in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible by ensuring judges have information to make decisions in the best interest of each child.

The GAL program needs volunteers, particularly in High Point. Training is free and flexible. Call the GAL offices for more information: 574-4315 in Greensboro or 801-5388 in High Point. Or visit the Web site: www.nccourts.org/Citizens/GAL.

Will you join me in speaking up for a child?

Paula Labban
High Point

The letter by Jim Brooks (Feb. 7) saying that the great Robert E. Lee was no hero to the USA is probably right, but he was a hero to the Confederacy and to what he and all of the South believed.

Look around and see what has happened to this country since the South lost. We're in such a mess and disgrace that nothing less than a war on our ground can straighten it out.

So, Mr. Brooks, Robert E. Lee is a hero to us Southern folk.

Richard H. Vanderford
Siler City

Recent news stories about money scandals surrounding the state legislature and lottery have exposed the ugly, dominant role of money in politics. I hope the legislature will seek ways to reform the system. There is one solution in place that allows North Carolinians to support electoral reform while filing their taxes.

Under a special program, the Public Campaign Fund gives judges an alternative source of funds — but candidates must earn the right to use the fund by accepting strict fundraising and spending limits. Look for the question about the Public Campaign Fund on the state tax form. If you use an accountant or tax service, be sure they mark the Fund question "yes." Saying "yes" won't increase your tax or reduce your refund. It tells the Department of Revenue to transfer $3 into the fund to support fair courts and elections.

With public financing in place, North Carolina bucked a national trend of nasty judicial election campaigns tainted by special-interest money in the last two elections. Say "yes" to the N.C. Public Campaign Fund.

Ronnie Lee Chrisp
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint

By Kent Misegades

As an aerospace engineer, pilot, aircraft and small business owner in North Carolina, I am aware of many details regarding the history of Honda's efforts, dating back to the 1980s when their first work began at Mississippi State University. I met Michimasa Fujino when he addressed the members of my flying club in Apex last May. He provided us with a number of reasons for Honda's choice in locating their operations in Greensboro; none of these had to do with incentives:

 Close cooperation with the Greensboro-based company Atlantic Aero, experienced in the FAA's aircraft certification process, something new to Honda.

 A long runway and relatively low aircraft traffic, which is the case in Greensboro.

 Distance from HondaJet's primary competitors, most located in Wichita, Kan.

 Good golf courses (Japanese businessmen are avid golfers).

He stated the choice was made to locate operations in Greensboro in 2002, and things were kept very secret until last year. However, for those who have followed the HondaJet development, this was a poorly kept secret.

Honda is not a poor company. In fact, it just surpassed Nissan in total sales of cars to become Japan's second-largest auto manufacturer after Toyota.

Why then do Gov. Easley and Secretary of Commerce Jim Fain force the taxpayers of North Carolina to subsidize HondaJet?

It is past time that taxpayers demand an end to this insane "race to the bottom" in granting welfare to corporations, and call for an investigation into whether those who have received it have lived up to their promises.

HondaJet has created an interesting aircraft that is entering an already crowded market. While its success is far from being guaranteed, I wish it well — but without my tax dollars.

The writer is president, CEI Inc., Apex, and vice chairman, NC100.

Recently, the new rates for SCAT paratransit went into effect. They represent a significant compromise on the part of City Council and the GTA board. Still, someone riding only to work, stores and church had monthly transportation costs doubled. Why?

GTA and City Council said riders were taking too many rides. They said the SCAT budget was eating GTA alive. The truth? According to GTA, recreational trips only accounted for 1 percent of the total a month. Most trips were for work, school and medical purposes.

In the five years beginning in 2000, the SCAT budget increased only $6,837, while the budget for regular buses increased $1,809,797. GTA admitted during that period that they performed the worst in cost effectiveness per trip and service efficiency per mile for regular buses among eight N.C. cities, including Charlotte and Raleigh. The standoff could have been avoided if the SCAT rate increase was at least comparable to the one for regular bus riders. People do not fight for seven months against reasonable increases. Will GTA continue attacking SCAT? You bet.

Claire Holmes
Greensboro

Regarding the story, "The trans fat's in the fire" (Ideas, Feb. 4):

I applaud New York City for taking action to help cure America's obesity epidemic. Making laws against trans fats and removing them from foods is the first step toward curing obesity in America and helping this become a healthier nation.

It is difficult for me to understand why there would be any controversy over the removal of trans fats. The only purpose they serve is providing a little better texture and a longer shelf life for foods.

However, they are responsible for a large number of health risks, such as high cholesterol, coronary heart disease and cardiovascular problems, among many others. They provide no additional flavor and, when they have been eliminated from food, it is usually impossible to tell a difference in taste.

New York is making a smart decision that other cities and states should consider. The harm of trans fats completely outweighs the good.

Trans fats are a threat to America's health, and I hope they will be eliminated in the future from all foods completely, and that many other cities, and, eventually, the entire country, will follow in New York's footsteps.

Katie Dickens
Greensboro

I sense that people are getting a little bit tired of hearing about the Guilford College incident. If I may, I do want to add a few last comments.

No matter how carefully a college plans for its calendar year, it cannot foresee or plan for all eventualities. What is frustrating for me is that, in the absence of accurate information, we hear all types of speculation about what happened or what did not happen, what the incident was or what it wasn't. When "stuff" happens, its occurrence is not necessarily a reflection on the good name and mission of any institution.

In this case, I trust that Guilford College will be thorough and honest and, in the future, speedier regarding its internal review and resolution. The only urgent request that I would make to the administration is that it fill the void of time by giving as much formal information about the status of the case as possible until a final conclusion and decision are reached.

I would not want to see a hasty decision. However, my concern is that, in the absence of official, reliable information, there will be more unproductive stories, "letters" (both from within and outside), rumors and meetings.

Joe Dennison
Greensboro

Jim Gutsell clearly needs to brush up on his reading-comprehension skills. His letter (Jan. 28) completely misstates and misconstrues Melodi Fentress' interview remarks from the Jan. 18 GoTriad article.

I'm very curious which "obscene remarks attributed to me" he is referring to. Having carefully read the five-question interview, I can't find his name or an obscene remark anywhere. I'm also curious as to exactly how writer Sue Edelberg is supposed to "check out this material" when it appears that Fentress merely related nonspecific statements made by a third party.

I doubt it occurred to Fentress that she should have gotten "these two ladies" (from the interview) to give her their names, addresses and phone contacts to satisfy a pottery salesman. Nor is Fentress responsible for these ladies allegedly going on "to make all these dirty jokes all night."

I can't help but wonder what Gutsell is thinking to become so obviously distressed by such an innocuous interview. His vehement denials of non-existent "sexually derogatory remarks" and his demands for apologies bring Shakespeare to mind.

You know the quote: "Methinks thou dost protest too much."

Mary Rader
Madison

The Democrats/liberals are still unaware of the insensitivity of their hateful remarks. Staffers to John Edwards assured him "it was never their intention to malign anyone's faith" when one called Catholicism an "ancient mythology" and ridiculed the Immaculate Conception -- a basic tenet of the Catholic faith.

My dictionary's definition of malign: "to speak harmful untruths about; speak evil of; slander." Good thing Democrats/liberals use a different dictionary.

Suppose someone said there's no such thing as the unemployed -- that there are just those who are too lazy to work. The uproar would be deafening and it would be on the front page, not A7.

If we should be sensitive to the color of people's skin, or sexual orientation or social condition, then we should -- no, we must -- also be sensitive to their religious beliefs and their politics.

There is a line between disagreeing with and maligning. The Democrats and liberals cross it with impunity.

All of us, liberals and conservatives, deserve better than that.

Len Docimo
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Bruce London

I read Kenneth Trager's reaction to the "school district spin and news coverage of the student tutoring program for suspended students" ("Experience points to tutoring problems," Counterpoint, Feb. 12). His primary objection appears to be the program is not being run by a "certified public school employee" on public property.

His primary evidence for the inevitable failure of this program seems to rest on the failure of a "virtually identical program" in Syracuse, N.Y. My queries are:

1. In what ways are these two programs similar?

2. Does the failure of a similar program in Syracuse necessarily mean the failure of such a program here in the Triad?

Maybe even more important than the answers to these questions is my desire to address Trager's world view. Rather than seeing the Syracuse initiative as a failure, I would point out the real success as outlined by Trager in his own "Side Point 1," which I have reproduced verbatim: "The program in Syracuse ended this year because it was cost-ineffective and had virtually no impact on suspension rates or results in statewide testing."

Isn't this an important point? The program failed and was terminated. If this program instead were initiated in the schools and was a failure, would it ever end?

How many school programs are initiated within the school system with no accountability and continue even when there is no demonstrable benefit? How many school programs remain within the school system because they develop a bureaucracy of school employees who advocate continuation of the program under a new mission statement despite failure of its original intent?

How many programs offer short-term benefits to students, but examined in the larger context of long-term academic performance are actually not "cost-effective"?

I imagine after Trager's 36 years of experience as a secondary social studies teacher he can think of a few such programs.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Guilford County Schools isn't recognizing Presidents' Day with a holiday this month. Many local residents, especially those with children in the public schools, will notice the school system's failure to honor two of the country's most important presidents and the institution of the presidency.

I hope that residents who want this holiday included in the school calendar will tell the school board so in the future, as I will.
On their own, parents can recognize the holiday by reading a book or watching a movie about the presidents with their children.

Kelli Rush
Greensboro

I have noticed a lot of worn-out flags in our area, and I would like to make a plea to homeowners and businesses. If you are displaying an American flag and it is torn, frayed or badly faded, please replace it with a new flag. This is a symbol of our country and should be respected and honored as such.

Fly our flag proudly. God bless America.

Rita Dilloway
High Point

Regarding President Bush's "surge," one of the examples of Pyrrhic victory, the dictionary word for Feb. 8, is a sentence from an essay in the May 5, 2003, edition of National Review.

"Ferguson argued that British involvement in World War I was unnecessary, far too costly in lives and money for any advantage gained, and a Pyrrhic victory that in many ways contributed to the end of Empire."

If we continue to pursue unattainable success in Iraq, will President Bush's "idee fixe" be our Pyrrhic victory?

Trudy Atkins
Greensboro

In response to the letter (Feb. 8), "Republicans' policies have been disastrous," I can't believe Randy Barnes' remark that, "Extremist Muslims don't hate us for our freedom." They hate us for our position of support of Israel and a stance against Muslims.

Extreme Muslims hate us because we are not extreme Muslims. They hate us because we are free. We support Israel because Israelis are a persecuted free people having to exist in the midst of radicals who want to wipe all Jews off the face of the earth.

Our country is not against Muslims. There are thousands of Muslims living in our country who love being here as part of the American way of life.

As for George Bush, I give him credit. He loves this country had has tried for years to keep us safe and free from terrorism. As Rudy Giuliani said the other day, "People seem to have forgotten Sept. 11, 2001. These extremists still want to come here and kill us." And, I say, Bill Clinton was president for eight years and did not stop Osama bin Laden.

And, yes, our president is most certainly a man of integrity.

Janis Pace
Summerfield

For perhaps the first time, people are paying attention to Al Gore while many religious conservatives share concerns regarding global climate change with groups like MoveOn.org. More people are catching on to the current administration's war-for-oil strategy, which is so clearly outlined in "Rebuilding America's Defenses," the neocon manifesto completed in 2000. Many are finally willing to listen to the "Jersey Girls" and demand answers to the questions that the 9/11 Commission so obviously avoided.

Ask teachers and they will likely tell you that students learn in different ways and that teaching to the test is leaving more and more children behind. Even the once-vilified Dixie Chicks were richly anointed at this year's Grammy awards for their music, or more likely for their conviction. It turns out a lot of people are no longer "ready to make nice."

With his approval ratings in free fall across the political spectrum, even this president must realize that on Nov. 7, 2006, the American people fired him. Let's all hope that in the two years he has to clean out his desk, a presidential candidate emerges who is not beholden to special interests or driven by imperialistic delusions.

Brad Spencer
Reidsville

In reference to T. Dianne Bellamy-Small's big tantrum over not getting a window, maybe someone should call "Super Nanny." She can really help with the disciplining of children.

R.A. Jessup
Greensboro

I watched the "debate" in the House of Representatives. This consisted of speakers talking to an empty chamber, getting their speeches in for the media. I noted that they made a big point of how unprepared troops and lack of equipment were problems.

I would point out that Congress is free to increase spending on these areas. Our troops are still being killed in Humvees when they should be in armored troop carriers; still using obsolete M-16 A1 rifles, lacking adequate body armor, and there are no increased expenditures for more recruits.

All these are in Congress' power to fund and expedite. President Bush would not dare to veto these bills.

How about it, Congress? Let's have less wind and more action.

Edward Philpott
Greensboro

Every now and then in these opinion pages, an opinion is offered that highlights perfectly the lack of awareness and head-in-the-sand mentality of the far left.

In this instance, Fred Riek is so wracked by hatred of George Bush that he can't see his hypocrisy exposed by his own arguments. His letter (Feb. 13) contains nothing but snide remarks about Bush and Dick Cheney and exhortations for impeachment for contrived wars, loss of liberties, yadda, yadda. Pretty much what the Democrats and looney left have been regurgitating since Bush became president. He even calls them "madmen," not mentioning the real heroes in Riek's world, such as our friend Mahmoud in Iran, and the guy in North Korea with the bad haircut.

But I guess his particular brand of Christianity allows for hatred of other people, as long as they are Republican "evildoers."

The left has been slowly killing our nation by a "death by a thousand cuts" by destroying our education system, invoking Big Brother into every facet of our lives, stealing from working people to support those who don't, wiping away our moral structure with every opportunity, and undermining our defense structures.

I guess it is hard to see your own flaws with your head buried in the sand, or elsewhere.

Steve Gorden
Kernersville

I'd like to explain to Jay Callaham (letter, Feb. 14) what people (not just Democrats) see in John Edwards.

He wants to address the growing division in America where only the wealthy are thriving. He wants to end our involvement in the civil war in Iraq where there is no military solution. The "War on Terror" is best fought through international cooperation, not invasion.

He wants to solve the health care crisis in this country. Since President Bush took office in 2001, the number of uninsured Americans has increased by eight million.

He wants to curb our dependence on foreign oil and address global warming. The United States should make a major investment in energy innovation and not just cater to the oil companies.

Edwards himself said this: "The next president will have to do more than just undo this president's mistakes — the next president must offer a vision for fundamental change that will transform America and ensure our greatness in the 21st century."

And, this: "We need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war and involve everyone — government, industry, and individuals — in the solution."

As for Callaham's parroting of the conservative disinformation campaign against Edwards, they only smear what they fear.

Marshall Woodard
Jamestown

The following is a Counterpoint.

By June Atkinson

In response to your recent coverage of issues regarding school bus tires, I assure your readers of two things: There has been no breach of safety standards for school buses, and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction continues to keep safety at the top of our school transportation agenda. We would never compromise the safety of schoolchildren.

The retreaded tires purchased through the state contract administered by the Department of Administration and used by North Carolina school districts have performed without incident. One retreading technology, the "bead-to-bead" process, does replace rubber on the sidewalls of school bus tires, which obscures original manufacturers' information. White's Tire Service of Wilson, the contract vendor, replaces this information to show the original manufacturer of the tire, the date of the retread, point of origin and the number of times the tire has been retreaded.

Also, the recommended load capacities and air pressures are stamped on the retreaded tires. The only applicable ratings are those for dual wheel applications such as on the rear axle of a school bus. Retreaded tires are not permitted on the front (steering) axle.

State Board of Education policy allows a range of safe tire pressures. The local school transportation director determines the appropriate pressures, within this range, for his or her district's buses, based on local geography and climate. School buses are inspected every 30 days and tire pressure is checked more frequently than this.

In 2004, White's Tire Service realized that it was stamping tires with a pressure range that did not match the original manufacturer's recommendations.

It immediately changed this and notified DPI and the Department of Administration. There was no effort to "recall" tires because it was not needed. Safety tests of the retreaded tires ensured that they could withstand the pressures stamped on them. There have been no reported problems with the retreaded tires.

It is important to note that once a tire is retreaded, the responsibility for that tire rests with the retreading company, not the original manufacturer. Federal regulations stipulate that the retreading company is not required to stamp any tire pressure or capacity recommendation on the retreaded tires. The retreaded tires provided to North Carolina school districts through the state contract do contain this information as well as the load range, which is stamped as requested by DPI.

Parents can rest assured that the tires used on their children's school buses meet all required safety standards.

The writer is state superintendent.

While reading Felicia Wright's letter (Feb. 6) concerning the controversy at Guilford College, I became somewhat stumped.

She emphasizes that racism is wrong and should not be tolerated anywhere. But in one paragraph she says, "If this had been N.C. A&T and a bunch of black football players beat up a few white people, we all know how this would end up."

This paragraph confused me, for it seems so … well … racist.

Tammy Sanders
High Point

The "best fit" Heart of the Triad plan has been presented to local elected leaders. Where do we Misfits "fit" into this plan? We Misfits have lived here for many generations and have produced this "special place" that the HOT planners want to develop to their standards. We are an impediment to the HOT Plan.

From the beginning, our concerns were dismissed when no local residents were selected for the HOT steering committee. Misfits have attended HOT meetings and the "charadettes" in April 2006, but there were no puzzle pieces symbolic of privately-owned open spaces and farms to place on the HOT maps.

How will HOT be governed? I fear that a bureaucratic layer of appointed leaders will manage this area, allowing our elected officials to be less accountable to HOT residents. We Misfits will have even less representation than we do now.

Would the HOT planners like for us to fade away so they can asphalt our legacy? We could relocate to another area, build and nurture it, and someday our grandchildren and great-grandchildren would face this same problem.

In the back drawer of the HOT Steering Committee's filing cabinet, I would not be surprised to find a puzzle piece for this.

Jimmy Morgan
Colfax

The papers all declare that the president has led us into war on false pretenses. He has lied about his reasons for taking us into what is, at best, a pre-emptive struggle. He says he wants to set a people free, but they clearly do not care.

Why can't he simply pull out our troops and leave things like they are? The man who represented such a threat to us has been killed by his own people.

Already more than 400,000 Americans have died.

It is June 1863.

Marion Griffin
Asheboro

It is amazing to watch the "drive-by" media create candidates of their choosing.

This year it is Barak Obama, and the number of people who accept this newly created Democrat Messiah blows my mind.

As a presidential candidate, Obama is a joke, just as John Edwards is a joke. Both of these novices have limited time spent in the U.S. Senate and feel they are qualified for the most important job in the free world.

Sure, these guys have the gift of gab, but speech making is a poor qualification to be president of the United States. Obama thinks his cut-and-run policy for Iraq is his ticket to the White House, with no thought given to the devastating chaos that would consume Iraq when the terrorists move in behind the U.S. pullout. Edwards has a similar plan with the same results predicted.

Obama and Edwards have no foreign policy experience, and good looks and a slick tongue won't make up for that.

The presidency is not for on-the-job trainees. We are in a critical war with Islamic terrorists who want to destroy us. It will take a skilled, experienced person to take over the job when President Bush leaves office.

Dave Derence
Greensboro

We have lived at the same address and had the same family size for the last 10 years. Having kept up with utility costs over that time frame, I was astonished at the following figures:

In 1996, Piedmont Natural Gas charged $.7703 per therm. By 2006, that had risen to $1.7577, an increase of 128 percent.

For the same period, the per unit cost charged by Greensboro for water service went from $4.00 to $11.30, an increase of 182 percent. Water just went up again at the first of 2007, so now my most recent bill charged me $14.63 per unit.

By contrast, Duke Energy was charging $.083 per kilowatt hour in 1996. In 2006, I paid $.085, up 2 percent.

In the equation revenue equals income minus expenses, who at the water and gas works is looking at the expense side?

Thanks, Duke, for your efforts at holding costs down very effectively and responding to power outages.

David Bender
Whitsett

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Richard Miller

I support the president and the war effort. The problem I have with our Iraq strategy is that the increase in troop deployment is happening about two years later than it should have. That may have been more the result of political circumstances than strategic considerations, and that is the problem with trying to protect this country in the 21st century. We don't have the guts anymore.

Consider this. The number of American deaths in Iraq is above 3,000. The number of American deaths in World War II was approximately 418,500, many times the number in Iraq.

Every loss is tragic but, for whatever reason, this country, which persevered through World War II, has lost the stomach for war.

Today, many people in the United States (that is, those who don't already blame the U.S. for every world problem) are only going to support a war that plays out like a football game, like the first Gulf War did, over quickly and the U.S. wins big.

The problem is that our enemies are relentless and don't mind dying for their cause. They lurk in many dark corners of the world without one particular base of operation (although Iran is increasingly looking like their world headquarters). While the U.S. debates whether to use the kind of force necessary to win, the rest of the world, which has even less resiliency, retreats, which only makes the terrorists more bold.

One thing Americans must realize is that this war, while not a declared war against an identifiable single country, is just as much a real war as World War II. The fact that the enemy lurks in the shadows, receiving stealth support from one or more countries, only makes it tougher.

I believe the president of Iran has made his intentions clear. He wants to destroy Israel (aka the Jews) and take over the rest of the world.

Sound familiar? It should. Our enemy in World War II had the same goal.

The writer lives in Burlington.

On Feb. 5, a Muslim student wrote that he was offended by a bumper sticker that read, "Hey rag head, knock it off, Allah just called, He's out of virgins." The student says, "Where on earth did this lie, 'If a Muslim kills a bunch of people, then he will go to heaven and have 1,000 virgins,' come from?"

I don't know if the figure 1,000 is correct, but the Quran says, and I quote, "We will wed them to the virgins with large dark eyes," Sura 44:51.

Although the Quran denigrates women, saying, "Hey rag head" is unkind. You shouldn't poke fun at someone's religion.

Pat Burns
High Point

One myth about slavery is that it was an aberration committed by Europeans against Africans, rather than a partnership sustained by the willingness of black men to sell each other to white ones. But another myth is that the Civil War wasn't fought because of it.

The Union didn't go to war to end slavery. If it had quickly won, there would have been no Emancipation Proclamation. But why did the South secede? Southerners believed, however wrongly, that the damn Yankees wanted to take away their chattel. Lincoln wasn't an abolitionist, but they thought he was.

Southern apologists talk about "states' rights," but the Confederate Constitution explicitly denied the right to abolish slavery within a member state's borders. No free state could enter the Confederacy, nor could any Confederate state declare itself free.

It's all there in the Articles of Confederation. Robert E. Lee didn't go to war to keep his slaves, but he took orders from politicians who'd formed their government to preserve their "peculiar institution" and who gladly said so. I'll take their own words over those of their contemporary apologists.

Ian McDowell
Greensboro

This is in response to the letter writers who support government entities banning trans fats, most of whom cite New York City as a model. They believe outlawing trans fats will reduce obesity and heart disease.

One writer stated: "If the government has to step in, so be it." Consumer demand is changing the market to rid food of trans fats. Walk into any grocery store and discover hundreds of products that tout "no trans fats" on the packaging.

Most fast food eateries and other restaurants offer healthy alternatives on their menus and are working to reduce or eliminate trans fats.

Banning trans fats, particularly on a municipal level, will have little effect on obesity. It will only increase costs for consumers as restaurants are forced to tailor menus by municipality. What's next, banning bacon and cheeseburgers?

I agree trans fats are not healthy and I limit them in my diet. However, I do not need the nanny state to make decisions about what I eat. The market is already solving this problem without need for useless, feel-good legislation.

Tom Imbus
Browns Summit

I was a proud alumnus of Guilford College. Regarding the recent "incident" involving "up to 15 football players":
It's like the good-hearted little girl who acquiesced to the cold-blooded serpent that wanted to be inside her warm coat with her, and then promptly bit her. The serpent told her, "You knew what I was when you picked me up." Even the News & Record, amazingly, was able to recognize that these invited boors were "oblivious to Quakerism and its tenets." (And then treated to hotel rooms to "party on.")

Now on to a more important pressing adult issue: Why were there eight forcible sex offenses at Guilford College in 2005, (News & Record, Feb. 4)? This is not a rhetorical question.

Pat Thomas
Greensboro

I am not usually a follower of the Grammys, but this year I felt compelled to toss in my 50 cents on behalf of the Dixie Chicks and the awards they received.

Way to go Sistahs. What a beatin' these gals have taken plain and simple and for voicing their opinion, right here in the good old U.S. of A. Additionally, would they have been tossed quite so much with more testosterone and less estrogen, and more of the
"good old boy" network? I wonder?

The things that make us such a wonderful country can also come back and bite us in the backside. The comment they made four years ago was their opinion, for which they are entitled. We can all agree to disagree.

You didn't like it, fine. But in my book, they deserve some credit for persevering among their peers and the public at large. It takes guts to stand up and keep on playing, or better yet, to admit you were wrong and too quick to pass judgment.

Larice White
Pleasant Garden

According to politicians and the media, there is no doubt that global warming exists and people are the cause. Columnist Ellen Goodman even compared global warming skeptics to Holocaust deniers. Anytime we have politicians and media types spouting "scientific truths," we are in trouble; just ask Copernicus.

I am skeptical of global warming for several reasons.
First, in the 1970s scientists were sure that the earth was entering an ice age. Scientists now admit they were wrong, but say their methods have improved, and they can now forecast with certainty that the earth is getting warmer.

Second, scientists often are reliant on government money for their research. Scientists, therefore, sometimes feel compelled to reach conclusions that are politically popular. See Ellen Goodman's column for more on this topic.

Third, the idea that science "proves" anything is contrary to scientific method. The most that a scientist can legitimately say is that a hypothesis has been tested and has not been disproved.
Finally, scientists predicted that the number of hurricanes would increase dramatically during 2006 due to global warming. However, there were no major hurricanes during the 2006 season. Scientific theory must work in practice if it is to be credible.

Paul Daniels
Greensboro

I commend your recent article, "Guilford bridges get low marks" (Feb. 15), because it helps point out a growing problem in our state.

Due to the enormous cost increases for steel, concrete and asphalt along with stagnant transportation revenues and the diversion of some state transportation funding, many of our bridges and highways are increasingly in disrepair. The needs of our fast-growing state have outpaced our ability to pay for repairs. The result of a poorly maintained transportation system is decreased safety and increased congestion.

North Carolina is at a crossroads. NC Go! (http://www.ncgo.org/), a statewide coalition advocating for better transportation in our state, is calling on state leaders to address the situation now by taking a hard look at how we raise and spend money for transportation. Or we can wait for more bridges to crumble and our roads to become congested and less safe with the resulting negative impacts on our economy and our quality of life in North Carolina.

Beau Mills
Raleigh

The writer is NC Go! chairman and director, North Carolina Metropolitan Coalition.

Time has a way of catching us off guard and as I reflect on the years I've left behind I find this letter overdue.

In December 1990, I adopted a little black and white Pekingese from the Guilford County Animal Shelter. A mom, whose daughter was a college student, had surrendered the dog. I was saddened to think of the young girl coming home for the holidays to find her dog missing. The story was sadder still when the attendant said that the mom had also surrendered the girl's cats. That must have been a difficult Christmas.

We named our dog Oscar and gave him a good home. He made a good companion. Often I've wondered what his name was and what his first owner was like. She is probably about 40 by now.

Some day, I will have to let Oscar go, but wanted to acknowledge the young lady who must have felt his loss. Oscar is approaching 20. He is blind and doesn't hear well. He is happy and still healthy but certainly looks his age.

If this story has a ring of familiarity to it, please tell the first owner that Oscar has lived a very good life.

Ellen Adkisson
Mount Airy

The following is a Counterpoint column.

By Elizabeth Brown, M.D.

I am writing about the article, "Clearer view of cancer," by Amy Dominello (News & Record, Feb. 14). I am concerned that the article is misleading and may have caused some confusion for your readers. I have already received many questions from patients and colleagues, and wanted to clarify some points about breast cancer evaluation.
Breast Specific Gamma Imaging is an interesting technology. Although the nuclear medicine agent Sestamibi is FDA approved and has been recognized as a breast imaging agent for some time, it is only recently that gamma cameras have been improved to allow detection of breast lesions smaller than 2 centimeters.

The current technique is very new and has yet to be proven effective in the detection of breast cancer in any large clinical trials. Small studies suggest that there may be a role for BSGI in the future, but it has not been adequately compared to mammography, ultrasound or MRI.

Currently, there is no data to imply that BSGI is as accurate as or more accurate than breast MRI. Large, well-designed trials will be needed to compare the modalities, but these studies have not yet been performed.

On the other hand, breast MRI has been studied for more than a decade and techniques continue to improve. Large studies have been performed which support the use of MRI for patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer and in screening patients at high risk for developing breast cancer.

MRI provides higher resolution images and additional anatomic detail when compared to BSGI. In addition, if a lesion is detected with MRI, a biopsy can be performed with MRI guidance for diagnosis. Currently, there is no way to perform a biopsy with gamma camera guidance, which can lead to problems if a lesion is discovered but cannot be identified on another imaging study for biopsy.

Despite these newer technologies, it is important to stress that mammography remains the gold standard for breast cancer screening. Large studies have repeatedly confirmed a survival benefit for women who undergo routine screening. And in a study of nearly 50,000 women, digital mammography, the newest type, shows improved breast cancer detection rate for women with dense breasts when compared to conventional mammography.

Unfortunately, we have no test that is 100 percent accurate in the detection of breast cancer. Numerous techniques are currently under investigation and hold promise for adding sensitivity and specificity to our current methods. But until each new technique is thoroughly investigated, it should not replace the modalities considered to be the standard of care.

This column also was signed by Drs. Dina Arceo, Caron Dover and Gretchen Green with Breast Center of Greensboro Imaging and Greensboro Radiology; Dr. Peter Young, Central Carolina Surgery; Drs. Robert Murray and Peter Rubin, Regional Cancer Center, and Dr. Arlene Libby, pathologist.

My letter pertains to Jim Rosenberg's column (Feb. 18), "The Ten Compromises: Laws to suit modern times," written after he had gone to a bar mitzvah at the synagogue.

The article was totally repulsive. How many people in their house of worship are thinking of Hunt's Snack Pack pudding while their rabbi, priest, minister, etc., is speaking — that's pure gluttony.

Is Moses an important person in the Bible to be compared to a " 'Sting'-type " one-word name?

Rosenberg's political ravings were pure drivel and, yes, he needs to go to his idea of heaven — the Golden Corral where the pudding is plentiful.

This is the first time I've ever read Rosenberg's column, and I hope his future columns will be of a more dignified character.

Sandra R. Appel
Greensboro

I just read an article regarding Councilwoman Bellamy-Small being pulled for speeding. This is a prime example of our police department kneeling to peer pressure from a "rebel rouser" and a "rebel rouser" showing true colors.

Would this rookie police officer or his sergeant let you or me off that easy? I doubt it. This is disgraceful to all taxpaying residents.

Was this officer going to give her a warning because she is a city councilwoman, or because she is a female, or because she is African American, or because she is a female, African American councilwoman?

I appreciate the officer being intimidated by one of his "employers," but he has a job to do and needs to do it. Bellamy-Small, true to form, started "rebel rousing" by threatening to call the chief.

Trying to flex her muscle should come as no surprise. Once again, she shows she believes she is above the system. Maybe she will take a polygraph to confirm she wasn't speeding.

Hopefully, the police and the rest of our elected officials will look at this and act in a more professional manner, and the rest can maybe catch a break one day also.

Dean Barrett
Greensboro

The citizens in the Piedmont Triad should thank Honda and HondaJet Corp. for selecting Piedmont Triad Airport as HondaJet's world headquarters.

History will prove this is one of the most significant industrial announcements for our state in a long time. Honda Corp. is a world-class operation and anything they do is done well. I predict that HondaJet will be a major factor in the small business jet industry soon.

Thanks to Secretary of Commerce Jim Fain and staff and Dan Lynch and staff for the cooperation and coordination they exhibited in assisting Honda. Doug Galyon, chairman of the Department of Transportation, deserves a special thanks for his work in coordinating the infrastructure to the site.

The Greensboro City Council and Guilford County commissioners also deserve credit for their vote of confidence in awarding the very small incentive package to HondaJet.

Don Godwin of Atlantic Aero had the vision to offer Honda the facility five years ago.

HondaJet has set the standard for incentive packages in that they requested such a small amount for so many high paying jobs.

Congratulations to all that helped make this announcement possible.

Jim Melvin
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Locke T. Clifford

Below are seven frequently asked questions — and my responses — about one of my clients, former Greensboro police Chief David Wray.

Q.
Why did Wray resign?

A. As the new city manager, Mitchell Johnson demonstrated that he had more confidence in the obviously flawed Risk Management Associates report (a consultant's investigation of the police department) than he had in Chief Wray's 27 years of dedicated service.

Q. Is this case about "right and wrong," as City Manager Mitch Johnson says?

A. Yes, but there was no wrongdoing on Chief Wray's part. Chief Wray is no more of a racist than Abraham Lincoln and had a strong record of promoting minorities. The "wrong" was committed by the new city manager (Johnson) when people started playing the race card. The manager didn't have the gravitas to keep the ship on course during the storm. He panicked and threw Chief Wray overboard, "wronging" not only a valuable public servant but, more importantly, the police department and the city.

Q. Did the chief know that Detective Scott Sanders was recording his conversations with his superior officers?

A.
No.

Q. Why is the chief talking to author Jerry Bledsoe?

A. Bledsoe asked me last spring if he could interview Chief Wray for an article and possibly a book, with the understanding that the article or book might make Chief Wray look bad. Knowing Jerry's reputation for the relentless pursuit of the truth, and knowing that the truth was on his side, Chief Wray agreed.

Q. What about the "secret police" and "the black book"?

A. These are urban legends created by those who want to divide the city along racial lines. The only personnel agenda that Chief Wray had was to make sure that all 700 of his employees were treated fairly.

Q. What about former Deputy Chief Randall Brady's comments about making up stuff to "get" a woman who was stalking Chief Wray?

A. In the real world, people say things that shouldn't be said. The bottom line is, "Was it handled properly?"

Q. What was Wray's greatest accomplishment as chief?

A. Preventing a repeat of the violence of Nov. 3, 1979, on the occasion of the public demonstrations surrounding the 25th anniversary of the Klan/communist shootout at Morningside Homes. He literally surrounded the parade with plain-clothed and uniformed officers and it went off without a hitch. He even got a hug from Nelson Johnson's wife.

The writer is a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor who practices in Greensboro.

Editor's note: Wray has declined interview requests by the News & Record.

The lack of war planning took another turn this week when The Washington Post uncovered the broken system that awaits returning soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It is bad enough that the administration did not plan on the need for armor and flak jackets, or that they did not plan on an insurgency that would fill the vacuum after we destabilized Iraq. But perhaps the most damning story to date is the condition of, and service provided at, Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"Support the Troops" has been a political slogan many who led the march to war have hidden behind long enough. Supporting the troops means giving them the armor, equipment and planning necessary to do the job. Supporting the troops means providing them with superior physical and mental health services upon their return.

The scurrilous attacks on the patriotism of those who disagree with the war by the neocons are as despicable as the disingenuous use of "Support The Troops" effused by President Bush. The administration wanted to fight a war "on the cheap" and now they want to provide returning soldiers' health care "on the cheap."

Just when you think it couldn't get any worse.

John W. Graham
Greensboro

How can Earl Jones, or anyone else for that matter, make the statement of Jim Black "other than that blemish, his track record is impeccable"?

When someone who is elected by the voters takes money to change or influence votes in our state, how can we not help but wonder how much did it cost to put that bill on the floor for a vote or how much does this vote go for?

Did he buy Mike Decker's party affiliation? I believe his entire record must come under scrutiny.

Andy Turner
High Point

A President's Day poem to Dianne Bellamy-Small:

President George said I cannot tell a lie,

to you that obviously does not apply.

Honest Abe said with basic human rights we're adorned,

tell that to the police officer you scorned.

Perhaps to be like Nixon is what you seek,

you both had problems with a leak.

But alas, it's apparent Slick Bill you hold in awe,

you both think you're above the law.

Jimmy Wiggins
Greensboro

Concerning the article, "Rookie expressed concern about making traffic stop" (Feb. 17, News & Record):

Officer M.J. Calvert handled himself appropriately. The only rookie mistake he made was not giving Councilwoman Bellamy-Small a speeding ticket.

Fifty in a 35 mph zone within the city limits? Had it been a person of non-elected status, you can bet they would have received a speeding citation, and probably would have been field-tested for sobriety.

Councilwoman Bellamy-Small should have thanked Officer Calvert for his leniency, kept her mouth shut and gone home. Instead, she had to drag Chief Bellamy into it.

Why do elected officials feel the need to do this? Does mere guilt not trigger the need to keep one's mouth shut? It does, unless you feel you are above the law, as is the case here.

This is reminiscent of an episode involving former Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney. Not only did she break the law, she physically abused the law enforcement officer during the ordeal.

Officer Calvert, don't beat yourself up over this. Aside from the intimidation, I'm just thankful Bellamy-Small didn't slap you in the face.

Richard Sanders
High Point

I am a college student who works with developmentally disabled children. I have been appalled by the actions of some Greensboro residents.

I often take the children I work with out in the community -- to restaurants, parks, shops, etc. I cannot begin to explain the nasty looks I have gotten. Whether it's because I seem like a young mother or because I am tending to a child who is different, I am not sure. But, either way, the responses have bothered me.

I know that some of my clients may be noisy, or sitting in a wheelchair, or even drooling, but they are people, too. I am not asking for sympathy for my clients, but for understanding and acceptance. We are all human beings just trying to make it in a crazy world.

So next time you're out shopping and see a child unlike most others, keep in mind they are a child with a family, with feelings, and who most definitely deserve our respect.

Katie Rogers
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Clyde L. Hunt Jr.

A News & Record reader heaped high praise on your reporters, Richard Barron and Michelle Jarboe, for their recent multi-page "expose" of the "Credit Trap" (Feb. 4) perpetrated by the financial institutions issuing credits cards in America. Though I personally have no great interest in, or particular fondness for, most financial institutions, I feel obligated in this instance to defend them.

All the years I've enjoyed the convenience of my credit card, I thought that's why I used it -- convenience. I had no idea the purpose was to acquire several cards, then purchase/borrow to the maximum on most or all of them (well beyond my known ability to repay the accumulating indebtedness) and then complain that I was somehow a "victim" of financial institutions. And for them to expect me to remain current (as I contractually agreed to do) or pay a penalty for not doing so, is somehow unfair.

Rather than the supposed victimization of those who knowingly overextended themselves, perhaps a better subject for an article would have been the incredibly irresponsible use of credit cards in America today and the ridiculous notion that someone or something other than the card users is to blame for this trend.

A friend who counsels credit card abusers recently told me that his first and strongest advice is that they destroy all credit cards and purchase only the items they absolutely require and can pay for. Now that's a novel idea.

And this victimization characterization was carried to the ultimate extreme recently by a few of our local politicians. They reminded us that former House Speaker Black "should be remembered as a 'champion' of education funding" and that "he shouldn't be remembered for his legal troubles," and other than that "blemish," his track record is "impeccable." From this, one would think Black is the "victim," not the citizens of North Carolina.

When will we again hold individuals responsible for their own behavior?

The writer lives in Greensboro.

How sad that neither Mayor Keith Holliday nor a single Greensboro City Council member has publicly supported the young officer who stopped Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small. Their silence is sending a clear message to every Greensboro police officer.

As each Greensboro officer knows, there are many law enforcement agencies whose elected officials will not allow rogue cops or a rogue politician to damage the agency or destroy an officer's career. This apparently is not case with Greensboro's elected officials.

Most citizens of Greensboro are supportive and appreciative of the work and sacrifice of their police officers. It's truly sad the same cannot be said of the city manager or the City Council.

Norman Rider
Greensboro

Suggestion to your writer who penned the Feb. 17 front-page headline, "Area's preservation efforts could derail development": Switch to decaf.

The article goes on to describe how all of six rural property owners between High Point and Winston-Salem are using so called "conservation easements" to preserve their property from planners who might see other uses for it within their Heart of the Triad corridor.

Come on now, News & Record. Is there anyone who actually believes that when the government, business and financial interests of the Triad want this corridor to be developed, that a handful of property owners could stop it from happening?

Let's consider a more realistic possibility - that our planning and zoning commissions look at how a balance between rural beauty and development might be struck this time.

We're all witnesses over the last 20 years of the all too common, "Clear cut, bulldoze, and see what comes next" school of development. Could not the Triad use this opportunity to show the communities of Charlotte, Raleigh, plus the industry we seek to attract, how it can be done well for a wonderful change?

Bill Yaner
Jamestown

Regarding Len Docimo's letter ("Other religious beliefs also deserve sensitivity," Feb. 17), where he argues that Democratic liberals cross the line "with impunity" between disagreeing with and maligning Roman Catholics, how about Democrats Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Joe Biden, Tom Daschle, Christopher Dodd, Richard Durbin, Patrick Leahy, Nancy Pelosi, John Dingell, Dennis Kucinich, Charlie Rangel?

Are they not all liberals? Are they not all Roman Catholics?

Charles Hawes
Greensboro

With regard to article about Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small being stopped for speeding 15 mph over the 35 mph speed limit, and the trepidation of the officer who gave her a citation and then was chastised for doing his job:

Two weeks ago on a Sunday, on my way to church, I was ticketed for going nine mph over the 35 mph speed limit. The officer had no problem citing me without any consideration.

I am a senior citizen on a fixed income and the $125 fine which was a rip off was a hardship for me, but, I paid the fine. Why are there different standards?

Maybe because she was an African American city councilwoman and privileged to special treatment as opposed to a senior citizen who explained I was late for church and did not realize I was speeding?

I hope we can balance the playing field so that I can be treated as fairly as she was.

Frank Delfino
Greensboro

Many thanks to the hundreds of Greensboro residents who showed an incredible amount of respect to my recently deceased aunt by stopping your cars as her body, followed by friends and family made it's way to the cemetery.

It was truly heartwarming to know that, although you didn't know what a fine person she was, you took a few seconds out of your busy day to show our family that people still care.

And to the middle-aged man in the dark BMW who laid on his horn as the hearse and the family car passed, in an attempt to "unblock the traffic impeding his importance," I hope that when you or someone you love dies, the people of Greensboro will again show the class that they obviously possess and that you do not.

Glenn Howard
Signal Mountain, Tenn.

I see in the Feb. 18 paper that Sen. Elizabeth Dole is running for the Senate again. I started doing some research on her about a month ago. Lo and behold, questions started popping up.

First, the election office gave me the home phone number of Sen. Richard Burr, but Dole’s district office number. Does she really live in North Carolina? I believe her husband, Bob Dole, lives in the Midwest. Is she just using North Carolina as a mailing address? It seems to me that if she really lived here, we local folks would see and hear more from Bob Dole.

During her term in office, what has she done for North Carolina?

Why did she select Kinston to announce that she is running again? Why not Raleigh, Greensboro or Salisbury?

To me she is like a zero in math: a place holder. Surely, North Carolina has qualified candidates who really live here.

For the record, I am registered unaffiliated and will press this issue about Sen. Dole from now on.

George B. Wood
Greensboro

Since there are so many, it's difficult to pinpoint the low point of congressional Democrats, but their cowardly, nonbinding resolution to support the terrorists ranks right down there with their uniting to defend slavery. Of course, they feel compelled to preface each despicable act with their disingenuous "We support the troops, but …"

The Democrats have done this religiously since 1916, when even The New York Times (when it was a legitimate newspaper), asked, "Are there no men in Congress?" They also "supported" the troops in Vietnam by cutting funds, permitting the North Vietnamese to overrun the south and slaughter thousands. At least then, the cowards used binding legislation that forced accountability.

Now these treasonous fools waste days debating meaningless, nonbinding resolutions. Comically, the Senate "supporters" of the troops, with no dissenters, confirm the appointment of Gen. Petraeus, wish him well, then when he's gone, condemn his mission. No wonder the terrorists love these guys. They haven't the guts to introduce real legislation to de-fund the troops or stop the "make-believe" foolishness. At least while they play this childish game, they aren't doing any real damage to us by raising taxes or prosecuting Border Patrol agents for doing their jobs.

Tony Moschetti
High Point

On Feb. 16, the U.S. House of Representatives "courageously" flung its nonbinding resolution on Iraqi troop deployment in the face of reality and the president.

This inspirational leadership from far to the rear of public opinion stirs the hearts of countless pundits — for perhaps a moment or so. Someone might call this group Profiles to Discourage. A Which Way is the Wind Whirling form of diplomacy makes you want to duck and applaud.

Military strategy is basically getting there firstest with the mostest. For Iraqi policy, Congress suggests we muddle with the leastest, intending to hurt the president more than help the country. How many people think the president enjoys sending any troops to Iraq at all?

Presumably, we should withdraw from Iraq so we can go fight terrorism elsewhere. Yet, it appears that we can find all we want right there already. What we really should want is the united will to do something about it there, now.

Suggestion for Congress? Vanish overnight, take perhaps a three-month vacation, then go back with a vengeance. Before the terrorists come here — again.

Or substitute the ostrich for the bald eagle as a national symbol.

Jack Glenn
Greensboro

In response to Steve Gorden's letter (Feb. 19) accusing the "far left" of having its head in the sand, I would say ... huh? I guess Mr. Gorden is part of the 20 percent of this country that still feels that this bumbler-in-chief and his merry band of criminals are doing a fine job.

May I remind him that if we were not dumping a billion dollars a week down the toilet in Iraq, we might have been able to finish the job in Afghanistan and confront the nut-job leaders of Iran and North Korea instead of ignoring them until they became real threats. It is his heroes who are killing our education system with their unfunded mandates, running up ridiculous deficits with their No Millionaire Left Behind tax policies and ignoring the dwindling middle class.

As for invoking Big Brother, has he even been paying attention over the last six years? If he were to remove his head from the sand for a few minutes and take his ideology out of the equation, he might notice that his man Bush is driving us over a cliff.

Richard Welsh
Greensboro

I sincerely hope that Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small requested Officer M.J. Calvert's business card so that she could praise him for doing such a fantastic job. Checking for speeders could possibly lead to an arrest, especially near midnight. I am so glad that Ms. Bellamy-Small has taken the high road.

David Parrish
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Lauren Milligan

Thank you, Don Patterson and News & Record. I'm so glad your article, "College turns to '60s tool," was front page (Feb. 19). I applaud how Guilford College is processing this harmful conflict. Thank you, Guilford College, for acknowledging and implementing the belief, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

The college's effort is such an outstanding example for everyone, not just colleges. Businesses, churches, organizations and families should watch, learn and grow from this example. Unfortunately, I speculate few will take heed.

Truth seeking, takes … well … truth about one's self, and equally difficult truth about the other guy. I think of that dramatic line in the movie, "A Few Good Men," where Jack Nicholson says with such passionate rage, "You can't handle the truth." For the majority, unfortunately, he nailed it.

Truth takes soul-searching. It looks at the soul, it looks at the motive and the behavior of all parties involved. It must be unbiased or it's not the truth. There is no compromise on that issue. It must be transparent. It must be forgiving to move forward to the solution. It must be remorseful to be able to change the behavior and not repeat the pattern. You can't cry "victim," and you cannot "blame." It takes courage and integrity.

Who in our culture is honoring, upholding, inspiring and teaching these values? Certainly not today's publicly idolized role models. I love this anonymous quote: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

What is it we repeatedly do? The question is intentionally broad.

The writer lives in High Point.

Much has been written about the evils of war. But one does not really understand its horror unless he's been there. Strutting triumphantly across the deck of an aircraft carrier in a borrowed uniform does not get it done.

Iraq had done nothing to us. Committing troops to years of death and destruction in a wrongful war is one of the worst mistakes an American president has made.

We had no choice in 1941. As an artillery officer, I spent two years in Europe earning four battle stars while crossing eight countries on the way to Berlin. I saw buzz bomb attacks on London, the liberation of Paris, the Battle of the Bulge.

Along the way, I observed with horror the shattered bodies of young men and the obscene lime pits of Ohrdruf. The taking of the only life a young man will ever have is unthinkable. Severe disablement may be worse. That war was unavoidable. The current one is inexcusable.

And now, Bush wants to send more troops to Iraq. Who among you would wish to risk your life for anything happening there now?

Dan W. Maddox
Greensboro

Although he would have vigorously denied my arbitrary identification, George Herbert Gardner, who died Jan. 26, was a disciple of those inspired, down-to-earth "elitists" who created our nation's unique government. George, former executive director of the North Carolina ACLU, connected with the philosophy of those amazingly insightful founders of our nation.

Why? Because he was not only a keen student of history, but also possessed a generous "social conscience." He carried forth that sensible reasoning to protect the fundamental rights and privileges which those giants of rationalism inscribed in our Constitution.

Our forefathers were very aware that there were then (and are now) imbedded in the general populace those who would attempt to fashion the Constitution to impose economic and social dogmas to gain advantages for themselves. The "Virginia Planters" and their neighboring colleagues responded by instituting defensive measures against the ever-present, self-aggrandizing interests and consequent inequities that might be generated thereby.

What a legacy George left. Thousands of his fellow citizens, who never knew George Gardner (nor knew of him) owe the security of their civil rights to his efforts on their behalf.

James R. Rees
Greensboro

I was bothered by the article about the former soldier, Ilario Pantano, who killed two Iraqis, hung signs on them, got away with it and is now a deputy at the New Hanover County jail in our state.

I don't think that it is a good idea for any police or sheriff's department to allow applicants who have killed people. I wonder if the Greensboro Police and Guilford County Sheriff's departments have prohibitions on hiring officers who have killed people.

Chuck Mann
Greensboro

I had to smile at Dave Derence's letter (Feb. 20) of indignation that the media is responsible for creating unqualified candidates for the presidency. He points to Obama's and Edwards' limited national leadership, their lack of foreign policy experience, and states that their only assets are good looks and excellent speechmaking.

Might we remember that our current president had no national leadership experience, had not traveled beyond North America, and was also considered handsome by many when he sought the highest office in our country? I'm not certain that he was ever accused of being an excellent speaker.

Perhaps the media is to blame, but it is incumbent upon us, as voters, to inform ourselves. When we don't, our nation and the world suffer under poor leadership.

Marge Cromer
Greensboro

I have always wondered why we have never set aside a day to honor the memory of the millions of men, women and children — the Native Americans — who died at the hands of our ancestors.

Over and over we hear the stories of the Holocaust survivors, stories of the men and women who fought and died for this country. We hear about the hard lives and unjust treatment of slaves and the atrocities committed and devastation caused by war. But we do not hear the voices, the stories of atrocities committed on our own land by our own people against the Native Americans. Why?

Taking the land of Native Americans and their forced march across North America was the epitome of greed carried out by government.

We had no right to kill the Native Americans or to force them from their land. This was their home. We were the invaders; we were the terrorists.

This would be a good time to put some reality in our American history. We need a day to remind us of the millions of Native Americans condemned to a harsh life or death so our forefathers could establish our land of the free.

David G. Willett
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Judi Horning

I have hesitated submitting this letter for fear that it would hurt my chances for employment. It has been a year, and now I have nothing to lose.

I am a professional with a college degree in business administration with a double major in business education. I lost my job of 20 years as a controller and office manager when my firm was closed down and the manufacturing segment was relocated to the corporate headquarters in another state. I have been a controller for 30 years and have done accounting in one form or another my entire career.

I have applied for more than 300 jobs, ranging from controller all the way down to customer service. I have had six interviews and countless replies advising me that "a candidate who better fits the qualifications of the job has been selected." I have not applied for any positions that I do not have the knowledge or experience to fill.

People wonder how a person with a college education becomes homeless. I can tell you how. I am going to lose my home if I can't sell it. My COBRA will expire soon, and I am not old enough to get Medicare. It seems that no one is interested in hiring dependable, experienced workers anymore. My qualifications are the same as any recent college graduate and my experience is greater.

I hope you will print this because I have done everything but get down on my knees and beg for a job, and I am only one of many in this situation. We have been dedicated, loyal employees with integrity. We have stuck with our jobs until they were lost due to our livelihoods going to another country, and now we have no way to earn a living because no one wants to hire us.

The 60-year-old writer lives in Mebane.

When there's a lesson to be learned, one can always count on "The Andy Griffith Show." In "Barney and the Governor" (episode No. 76 from 1963), Barney tickets a car belonging to the governor of North Carolina.

Barney refuses to tear up the ticket, but he does worry about it. The question of equality under the law is at stake, and Barney remains firm. But what's this ... the governor himself comes to Mayberry to personally commend Barney for his refusal to abandon his duty. Those were the days.

Ted VanHoy
Summerfield

Talk is cheap, as the saying goes. Nowhere is this more accurate than in congressional politics. Our senators talk an excellent game of "supporting the troops," but their actions often belie their words.

In particular, Sen. Elizabeth Dole has a horrible voting record with respect to supporting the people who serve in our armed forces.
No need to listen to the rhetoric. Go the Web site of Empowering Veterans (www.empoweringveterans.org) and see their rating of Sen. Dole and a number of other senators.

Based purely on her voting record (actions, not talk), Sen. Dole makes the Empowering Veterans list of the 10 worst senators.

Enough said.

Michael Maddox
Madison

God and politics in America ... this marriage can work. Here's how:
Always keep in mind two basic facts:

• We are all Americans who love our beloved country.

• We may call Him by different names, but we are all praying to the same Almighty.

Let's start with politics. As long as we call ourselves "Americans," we don't disagree. It's only when other labels stick to us that trouble begins: liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, etc. When a liberal meets a conservative, a wall goes up between them. When a Republican meets a Democrat - that wall again.

But, politically, if your label is "independent," the room is quiet. Everyone loves you. You have the perfect label: an "independent"-minded American.

Now cross the bridge to religion. Let's all pray to God in our own personal and private way. We all have our direct line to the Almighty. Isn't it best talking to God in private with no one else in the room? We don't need affiliations or labels.

No Christian vs. Jew vs. Muslim vs. Buddhist. Just believers in the Lord. Independent-thinking Americans praying to God in their own private way. Think about it. That's as good as it gets.

Max Roseman
High Point

Congratulations to all the Polar Plungers of 2007. For our seventh straight year, Davenport, Marvin, Joyce, & Co. LLP took a leap into Oak Hollow Lake on Feb. 17 on behalf of Special Olympics North Carolina in the Guilford County Sheriff Department's Polar Plunge, and we are proud to have been in such good company.

In particular, DMJ would like to extend a special thank you to all of our clients and contributors whose generosity was extraordinary and instrumental in meeting and exceeding our fund-raising goal.

This year we are also delighted in the successes of all the participants, especially the fantastic efforts of Eastern Guilford High School.

We wish all the Special Olympians the very best of luck in the 2007 games.

Mike Gillis
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint
By David Mingia
You should have no fear of risking your credentials as a misanthrope as your chicanery with the written word on Feb. 18 proved ("Chabotar deserves applause," a column by Charles Davenport Jr.).

However, when you applaud Kent Chabotar's response to this year's event on campus, I do have to stand and say, "Friend speaks my mind."

Yet, I am afraid you did not stop there but instead secured your credentials as, if not a misanthrope, then surely as an op-ed writer eager to heap derision upon anyone who might be so bold as to step forward with an opinion, and then expect to retreat unscathed. But that is OK. I see it. I understand it. And even better, I respect it for what it is: You doing what you do and being who you are. We need all sides expressed if we are to have any chance at reaching consensus on how to proceed from here. In actuality your misanthropic perspective has brought into the light what might be a perceived weakness in Guilford's character and has value in the discussion.

Yes, as you conclude, "diversity, when excessive and unchecked, can render impossible the formation of true community." If any place pushes that envelope, it is Guilford. Community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship are not easy values to apply to problem-solving in the real world.

We all fall short - that is a fact of human nature. College kids; professors; campus ministries directors; college relations directors; even newspaper writers have their own perspectives of what is "right" or "best" in any given situation and each will balance their own personal values, observations and opinions to have it all make sense to themselves. That does not make any of them "right" - it just makes them comfortable with themselves.

What you are seeing within the greater Guilford community is all of this being put out on the table (where legal and appropriate) for everyone to see. And doing it this way is not comfortable. But that, my friend, is the whole point. Everything goes out on the table: even your opinion that, "Apparently, however, the student-athlete culture is not worthy of celebration."

So, Guilford does have an excessive amount of diversity? For sure, but it is a small world and we need to get used to it. Is it going unchecked? Evidently not. It looks to me like it is being checked quite well in an environment of respect, love and human frailty.
And, oh, by the way, thanks for your misanthropic perspective and keeping this thing out in the open.

I still don't know what actually happened in the Bryan Dorm quad - I was not there.

The writer is a Guilford College alumnus, staff member and parent of a current student.