News-Record.com

William Bodner, in his letter March 27, complained of President Obama breaking campaign promises. Do you really believe what a politician says?

There was ample evidence, other than his own speeches, to indicate Obama’s core beliefs. To name a few: his extreme-left voting record in Illinois and in Congress; his associations with numerous radical left-wingers; his statement to private citizen Joe The Plumber, “I just want to spread the wealth around.”

He is following this left-wing path to socialism just as this evidence foreshadowed. I blame, primarily, the major news media for essentially giving him a free pass. Some are now realizing, belatedly, that perhaps they should have asked him a few tough questions.

I hope enough of the news media and congressmen realize what is happening and start working to stop him.

Paul Camp
Greensboro

The views expressed by Cal Thomas in his “Inconvenient truth cuts both ways” has an unfortunate resonance coming from the “cuckoo” wing of our political right.

That message claims the entire notion of global warming to be “a fraud perpetrated by liberal politicians” for the express purpose of getting “more control over our lives.” Yikes!

As a layman who has only read the work of others in either supporting or refuting the science of man-made climate change, I would only urge that we leave this debate where it belongs, i.e., with the scientists.

But how can dragging in this absurd ideology that sees leftist plots crouching behind every rock possibly add anything to this critical dialogue except distraction and paranoia?
When Hillary Clinton used the term “vast right-wing conspiracy” to describe her husband’s detractors, she was widely and soundly criticized for it.

Yet isn’t that the same concept being floated from many on the right today to explain everything from Treasury Department bailouts (“socialist takeover”) to alarming changes to our ice caps, oceans, and air (“liberal hoax”)?

Where have you gone, William Buckley? Our conservatives turn their lonely eyes to you.

Bill Yaner
Jamestown

What’s with the Guilford County school board? Do they think the public is so dumb we will believe it will not cost more for Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green’s sub-districts? If they will go back several years, we had that. It was called Greensboro City, High Point City, and Guilford County schools.

Then, we were going to save tons of money by consolidating. Now we have a new school (Northern Elementary) that is less than two years old and already has multiple mobile classrooms. Great long-range planning. We have a school with a leaky roof that is not scheduled for a new one for two years. How much dangerous mold can grow in damp ceilings in two years to endanger staff and students’ health?

Instead of laying off teachers and special-ed instructors, how about scrapping the sub-district plan and look at potential savings in administration.

Robert Bracey
Summerfield

The recent announcement by Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green that Guilford County Schools may need to cut as many as 100 employees from next year’s budget should set off all sorts of alarms. Every day we hear about the Obama administration’s plans to stimulate the economy using our tax dollars (or those borrowed from future generations) and yet our public school system is contemplating cutting jobs.

One of our highest priorities should be supporting existing public education systems across the country, and we should not tolerate the loss of any jobs because of budget shortfalls in local school systems.

Gov. Perdue’s administration should be contacting representatives of school systems statewide to make sure federal funds available through the recently passed stimulus package can be channeled to prevent the loss of school jobs.

Moreover, the stimulus funds should be used to hire more teachers and other school system employees in areas that have been under-served. There’s a “shovel-ready” project we can all support. Let’s contact our elected officials and make sure they know where our priorities should be.

Clarence H. Owen
Greensboro

Rep. Pricey Harrison and others in the N.C. House are offering the Appalachian Mountain Preservation Act. Sounds good, but it will prohibit electrical utilities from operating their businesses as they wish by mandating which type of coal they can burn to generate electricity.
They could not buy mountain-top coal from West Virginia, Tennessee or anywhere else. Why? Because mining mountain-top coal destroys the environment, according to your leaders.

The 800-pound gorilla coming down the pike will be Al Gore’s cap-and-trade and it will be the largest money grab by politicians in our history. Our electric rates can rise substantially, but politicians will tell you they know best.

Telling Duke Energy who to buy coal from, raising electrical rates at will. Soon your freedoms slowly will vanish. All of your future freedoms will be what Washington and Raleigh say they will be.

If we collectively want our politicians to meet all of our needs and solve all of our problems, we deserve what we receive. This isn’t what this country was built on. Remember the old Chinese curse, “May you get what you wish for.”

Joseph A. Pippin
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column.

By Carol Moore

Please support the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act introduced by state Rep. Pricey Harrison. House Bill 340 will prohibit public utilities from burning mountaintops for coal removal to produce electricity in North Carolina.

I am a North Carolinian and owner of mountain property on the Cumberland Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains.

To look out across a flattened piece of land that once was the top of a mountain and see nothing but dead earth — devoid of life — touches the very soul of my being.

The feeling is not easily articulated. It is primal, ancestral, and as ancient and sacred as the mountains. The core of my being screams it is wrong to destroy a mountain, and it is wrong to destroy the culture of the people who live on mountains and in hollows.

The plight of the mountains became more personal last fall. A utility company wants a natural gas pipeline right-of-way on my property. Its representative tells me my land is “unimproved timberland.”

I cannot imagine, of course, how anyone could improve mountain timberland. The company plans to condemn a portion of my land under the guise of eminent domain.

No matter how many times I tell the company to stay off my land, it ignores me.
I can only hope for a bumper crop of copperheads this year to assist me in dissuading them from trespassing. My mountain neighbors tell me, “You do what the coal and gas companies say to do. That is just the way it is.”

Please cast a magnifying glass on the plight of the mountains and mountain people who have suffered exploitation for generations. Empower those of us who only want to grow trees, wildflowers, wildlife and to “walk gently” across Mother Earth.

It is only a matter of time before a coal company wants a piece of my land.
Please make the Appalachian Mountains Preservation bill a law. It will help me and others protect the mountains for all of us.

The writer lives in McLeansville.

Has anyone else noticed that most of the cuts that Guilford County Schools Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green has implemented are positions that deal directly with students? People are constantly asking, “Why are schools failing?”

The answer isn’t because the schools, the teachers or even the students are bad. It is because the “leaders” at the top end of the hierarchy of the school system do away with student support — ESL teachers, technology specialists, media center assistants, math teachers, science teachers, art teachers, EC teachers, supplies for students and student activities — all in the name of “saving money.” However, I don’t see Green’s job on the list.

There are other ways of saving money. Let’s look outside the box and start considering different ideas, such as a plan that might cut back on energy use.

Let’s not be hasty in making decisions. Let’s look elsewhere, even at unconventional ideas that might save money but not destroy our schools.

Rondi McGill
Kernersville

Kudos to the Greensboro Cooperative Housing Association for introducing a cooperative model for providing shelter for the homeless (“Homeless housing co-op launched,” March 26).

Back in 1997, a few local folks from several area churches began cooperating to provide shelter and compassionate care for homeless children and their families. Today, that group, Guilford Interfaith Hospitality Network (GIHN), provides case-management services for its guests and formally coordinates the cooperative volunteer efforts of 55 local faith communities and churches around two day centers in Greensboro and High Point.

Unity of purpose and the spirit of cooperation knit together 140 similar networks in 39 states. For more information on the local network and for opportunities to help, visit www.GIHN.org or call 574-0333.

Clarke Martin
Greensboro

Counterpoint:

By Dr. Jeffrey Segal

We are not in principle against online ratings (“Docs don’t make case for online ratings,” editorial, March 17). We agree there needs to be a better way to rate doctors. But choosing a doctor on a rating site such as ratemds.com, where, depending upon specialty, up to one in three doctors have negative ratings, seems misleading. Are 33 percent of doctors bad?
Most patients really like their doctors. So, yes, there does need to be a solution.

We are working with third parties to launch sites where a patient is encouraged by the doctor to post a rating. The doctor can use the feedback constructively to improve his performance and practice.

Once there is a statistically significant number of ratings — not just an anecdote from a disgruntled patient or people posing as patients, such as ex-employees or even competitors — then these ratings can be made public. Then they will be meaningful and help us choose the best doctor. As the system stands now, a doctor is forbidden to respond to ratings because of federal and state privacy laws. He cannot even disclose he actually treated a patient.

Mutual privacy agreements are available so that a doctor can protect his reputation at least until we do have a better system. And we will have a better system.

In the meantime, patients retain full rights to access multiple existing venues to have their voices heard. The editorial stated, “The underlying problem is that online self-policing is, at best, uneven. False and misleading statements will continue appearing until sites provide adequate checks and balances.“

Agreed. We were tired of waiting, so we’re working with a strategic partnership of doctors and patients to get it done right.

I have been a patient and my then-5-year-old son has had brain surgery. Waiting to learn whether my son would live or die has allowed me to stand in the shoes of other patients.

We get it.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

The News & Record exchanges over the Employee Free Choice Act have overlooked the fact that, not only do union jobs pay premium wages over non-union jobs, but in the 1950s and 1960s, when union membership was considerably higher than it is today, union wages played a central role in the post-World War II rise of the middle class in America. That, in turn, was important to the spectacular economic growth realized in that era and the substantial improvement in the relative equality of the distribution of income.

Since the mid-1970s, income inequality has grown, with income becoming increasingly concentrated in the top 1 percent of households. Had the income inequality not increased, it is reasonable to say that the speculative binge of the top 1 percent, which was a significant factor fueling the financial meltdown, would have been smaller and the recession less serious.

A return to higher union membership is a path to a larger and stronger American middle class.

Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, along with a higher and more just minimum wage, will help end the recession and allow us to achieve our former prosperity.

Lawrence B. Morse, Ph.D.
Greensboro

The writer teaches economics and finance at N.C. A&T.

In her March 26 letter, “Iraqis depicted in article should be more grateful,” Katie Chandler is upset that the Iraqi people do not appreciate all the sacrifices we’ve made on their behalf.
Since “Shock & Awe” in 2003, according to the ever-reliable Harper’s Magazine Index: 1) 150,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed by U.S. firepower; 2) 3.5 million homeless refugees now wander Iraq because we bombed their homes; and 3) an Iraqi is 120 times more likely to die a violent death today than during the regime of Saddam Hussein!

For these things it is hard to be grateful. I wish Ms. Chandler would read “War is a Racket,” by Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Smedley Butler. It would disabuse her of the notion that our attacks are noble, and show her that we wage war on behalf of corporations.

Larry Surber
Stoneville

I want to thank everyone responsible for organizing another outstanding NCAA tournament in Greensboro. It takes an army of dedicated people to host an event of this magnitude, including hundreds of volunteers who assist coliseum and city professional staff. Special thanks go to Managing Director Matt Brown and his team at the Greensboro Coliseum and the Greensboro Police Department for excellent traffic control. We had the pleasure of hosting at the tournament the manager of a new company moving to the city and he was thoroughly impressed with the total experience.

That experience showcases Greensboro’s most valuable assets: our citizens and the coliseum.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see Greensboro through the eyes of other people and I can tell you, it never gets old. Congratulations to everyone involved for a job well done!

Dan Lynch
Greensboro

The writer is president, Greensboro Economic Development Alliance.

I believe one of the best-kept secrets of the Rockingham County school system is the year-round option.

Anyone in the county is eligible to register for year-round school at Central Elementary in Eden or at New Vision in Stoneville.

Students in year-round schools go to school for nine weeks, then have three weeks off. This repeats each semester during the school year. Start date is mid-July. The final day of school is usually the last of May.

This schedule allows students to build on their learning without a lot of time reviewing material after a long summer break.

There is room for more students in most grades based on this year’s enrollment.

If you are interested in this unique option in the Eden area, please contact Central Elementary School soon. If you live outside of the Central zone, you must complete a transfer request.

Because of limited space, requests are date- and time-stamped. The earlier these are completed, the better.

I hope you will seriously consider this option for your child. If you don’t have children, pass the word to friends and family.

Kevin Garrison
Eden

Counterpoint:

By Brian Boyers

There is a lot of talk regarding efforts of Congress and the Obama administration to fix the economy.

Unfortunately, most of their initiatives are counterproductive. Higher taxes, increasing regulations and government-imposed costs create a huge burden on businesses and discourage investments in new products and factories, leading to further economic stagnation.

Consider the example of one manufacturer in Randolph County: My partners and I grew a manufacturing business from 20 to 250 employees over 17 years.

Recently, we considered expansion, including a new distribution center and another manufacturing business.

We have been discouraged from going forward because nearly every new government initiative creates bigger burdens on small businesses like ours.

The administration is promoting measures that will raise costs of doing business. It will be harder to make a profit, and if we are successful, a greater portion of any return will be taken away.

Legal and insurance costs will go up. It will be easier to initiate meritless lawsuits against businesses. The proposed “card check” legislation will reduce productivity by making it easier for unions to take over workplaces.

Environmental initiatives will drive up energy costs to address problems — some real and some imaginary.

The administration opposes the least-expensive ways to expand energy supplies, such as drilling offshore and in Alaska, or tapping oil shale reserves.

Obama has declared his intention to raise income and capital gains taxes. Today’s huge government spending will require even higher future taxes. If we succeed, we will be punished.

Upon evaluation, my partners and I put expansion on hold. We’re just one small business.
Thousands face these decisions every day.

International companies face the same cost burdens and tax increases.

Imagine a company trying to decide where to locate, narrowing it to countries, including the U.S. Everything our government is doing discourages them from choosing us.

Misguided big-government economic policies during the Bush administration increased the burden on productive businesses and workers.

The Obama administration isn’t bringing change. It follows the same ill-advised patterns on a monstrous scale.

Expanding bad policies won’t lead to good results. It will cause good companies to delay their futures. Until state and federal governments choose policies that avoid stifling business growth, the economy will suffer.

The writer lives in Ramseur and is president of March Furniture Manufacturing Inc.

In an effort to keep taxes down, the Guilford Count commissioners are considering billing local governments for services managed and controlled by the county. Holding taxes down in tough economic times is a worthy goal, but the consequences of any change in services or how services are funded must be carefully considered.

If the county charges local governments for services previously paid for by county taxes, local governments will increase property taxes to cover the additional cost. This yields no net change in taxes paid by county property owners. It simply shifts imposition of taxes from the county to the local government.

The unintended consequence is that it creates a separation between control over the tax and control over the cost of managing the service, because local governments have no control over how the service is managed.

Long-term (unintended) consequence is: 1) lack of transparency leads to environment for wasteful spending due to lack of accountability; 2) higher taxes for same levels of service.
Please contact commissioners to let them know how you feel: http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/commissioners

Michael Smith
Oak Ridge

Scare tactics are used by the church, parents, schools and the government.

Otis Hairston uses them to keep residents of Warnersville believing that Dr. Craven Williams, president of Greensboro College, is trying to destroy their neighborhood (Counterpoint, March 18). The property in question, J.C. Price School, belongs to the college.

Hairston stated that “urban renewal” has destroyed our community. The neighborhood was not destroyed, it was reconstructed.

As far as the clock on top of the Jefferson Standard Building not facing the African American community, time has run out. It’s time to spring forward.

Greensboro College is led by a Christian man, evidenced by actions he has taken reaching out to the community. The proposed sportsplex will have a softball, baseball and soccer fields, six indoor tennis courts, batting cages, press boxes and concessions stands.

In addition, the college is offering to build a Warnersville historic museum, along with a $90,000 scholarship for any student wanting to attend Greensboro College.

Dr. Williams is inspiring; Mr. Hairston is an instigator. I choose to stand with the truth, not with the group.

Shirley Wright
Greensboro

I am very touched by the effort and time put into the story in tribute to the life of Nicholas Adkins (“Too good to be forgotten” by Jeri Rowe, March 29).

I had the great privilege of teaching Nick this year at McMichael High School. His presence in my classroom is something that I will never forget. His sense of humor, dedication to his work, and loyalty to his friends were obvious daily.

I remember Nick checking the school lunch menu every morning. He would always have some witty comment on whatever was being served that day. He was a real diamond in the rough and had enormous potential.

When someone decides to be a doctor, they have to be conscious of the fact that there is going to be loss of patients, but when I decided to be a high school teacher, I never thought that I would have to attend the funeral of one of my students.

It saddens me to think of the greatness the world will now miss out on, but I am confident Nick has left his mark on many people in this community.

It’s funny. Every day I catch myself reading the school lunch menu and smiling.

Jennifer Rogers
Stokedale

The writer is a teacher at Dalton L. McMichael High School in Mayodan.

Joe Scott’s review (March 22) of the Triad Stage production of Ibsen’s “Ghosts” is the most peculiar review the News & Record has ever published. In an 11-paragraph review, he devotes six paragraphs to the sound design and five paragraphs to the actress playing Mrs. Alving.

That’s the review.

Scott says nothing about Ibsen beyond providing the play’s Norwegian title. He doesn’t describe director Preston Lane’s compelling interpretation that almost turns the play into a horror story.

He doesn’t describe the austere, unrealistic playing space or mention the fact that the three acts are performed without intermission to intensify the claustrophobia.

Yes, the sound effects can be distracting, but they are part of an effective, haunting interpretation.

Scott also fails to mention that after the astonishing final scene, the Greensboro audience rose to give a standing ovation to a serious Norwegian play written in 1881.

Frankly, I miss Leslie Mizell. She did her homework, and she was always informative and fair-minded.

Keith Cushman
Greensboro

The budget for the next fiscal year is being debated. With current economic constraints, there have been proposals to do away with the mental health courts in Guilford County.

Individuals diagnosed with a mental illness and charged with criminal conduct are treated with understanding and respect so their lives and the lives of their families can be restored. The screening process for anyone admitted to the court is very rigorous.

Once admitted, the individuals are closely monitored. Biweekly, each is drug-tested and must appear in court to discuss events of the previous two weeks. Depending on conduct during that time, they receive either praise or sanctions. Arrest warrants are issued for anyone who fails to appear.

Examples of how the Mental Health Court staff helps individuals include finding employment, enrolling in drug and alcohol abuse programs and applying for Social Security benefits.
It’s a tough program, which has been shown to reduce recidivism and costs less than incarceration.

The Guilford County residents who signed this letter support the funding of the Guilford County Mental Health Courts.

Michael Key
Nancy K. Key
High Point

Virginia Stepko, Marge Burnside, Suzanne Raymond, Jerry Fergusson, Ernest E. White, Mark Hicks, Pat Fergusson, Jonathan Stainback Donna Bebout, John W. Miller, J. Eric Tucker, Georgia Parsons, Trudy Luman, Christie Ross, Donna Carver and Joanne Oates also signed this letter.

Counterpoint:

By the Rev. Mike Aiken

I would like to thank Operation Greensboro Cares, the United Way, the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, and the community in general for their support of the WE! Winter Emergency Shelters.

Special thanks to our WE! sites: Grace Community Church, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, West Market Street United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church, Pleasant Garden Baptist Church and The Hive.

Special thanks as well to my staff at Weaver House for housing on average an additional 40 homeless people each night during the winter along with our regular population of 100.

Thanks to the Salvation Army for its help with overflow. Thanks for the WE! sites agreeing to extend the length of time of operations to April 1.

I pray for the day soon when nobody will be homeless. Let us continue to work together as a community, a nation and people of faith to end homelessness once and for all.

We also have to work to make sure funding continues for the Housing Support Team working with the chronically homeless. If it were not for this program this winter, we would have had 80 or more homeless individuals needing emergency shelter.

And last, but not least, let’s not forget homeless families. Our Pathways Center continues to have 30 to 40 homeless families on our waiting list. The Guilford County school system has identified nearly 1,000 homeless children.

Urban Ministry has launched Beyond Pathways to begin rapid rehousing of as many families as possible. In addition, we have hope for more help coming to our community through the federal Homelessness Prevention Rapid Rehousing Program Stimulus Fund. Let’s provide “housing first” to our homeless friends along with support services as they are needed. This is the simple formula to “end homelessness.”

The writer is executive director of Greensboro Urban Ministry.

With compassion and a few tears I read the article about the Sigmons and their son going off to war (Jeri Rowe column, “A soldier from comfortable class heads to war,” March 26). Like the Sigmons, our family has had a son go off to the war-torn Persian Gulf. He’s home now, stationed in Pensacola, Fla., and married to his college sweetheart of 10 years.

Like Mrs. Sigmon, when he told me he wanted to be a pilot, I wept. He left for Officer Candidate School a week after 9/11 and served two tours. Like Alex, he took with him a few things: a card in his wallet of Saint Theresa (patron saint of pilots) and the knowledge that his brother, who died before birth, was flying with him.

He also let me sprinkle him with my little bottle of holy water the night before he left. I hugged him long and hard and groaned silently in prayer for the Holy Spirit to protect and comfort him.

The sight of an aircraft carrier sailing away with a loved one pulls heartstrings halfway around the world. By day, you keep him close by sending e-mails and care packages, and talking about him. By night, faith and prayer keep you sane and comforted.

Thanks for the story. May God bless all who serve and their families, especially Alex Sigmon and his family.

Jane Roath
Greensboro

County Commissioners Skip Alston and Steve Arnold are determined to have a budget with no tax increase. However, the only avenue open to them is to lay off county workers.

After years of job cuts, there is little fat left, and so the 75 jobs eliminated means a loss of service. Worse, these jobs are held by neighbors who will be tossed out into a recession with no paychecks.

A county resident who owns a $200,000 house will be spared about $50 in tax. Some people are truly hurting now, and a $50 increase would be a hardship.

The county should find a way to lessen their burden. But my guess is that most of us will not unduly suffer from such an increase. The exception is those 75 neighbors who will lose their jobs.

I would gladly pay $50 more to save the jobs of 75 people. After all, we in the Guilford County community are in this together, and our understanding of community is neighbors helping neighbors. We can do little to stop corporate layoffs, but we can help to save the jobs of our neighbors in county government.

Let the county commissioners know that you are willing to do your part to save these jobs.

Jack Jezorek
Greensboro

It’s going to take more than eight weeks to undo the mess that Bush and his cohorts left this nation. I am amazed at the number of unhappy Republicans complaining about Obama. We had a balanced budget when Clinton left office. Now we are trillions of dollars in debt that Bush spent. Where did it go, to Iraq? And for what? Billions out the window. It didn’t make this country safer. Change doesn’t happen overnight! At least we have some people who are trying to make a difference. Time will tell.

As far as the abortion issue goes, it’s a private matter. No one has the right to tell anyone what to do when it comes to his or her body. I’d like to ask the ones who think they have the right to comment on abortion: How many adopted kids or foster kids do you have? It would be so nice if people would just mind their own business when it comes to issues that don’t affect them personally.

S.D. McClelland
Greensboro

A letter (March 31) claimed that the AIG resignation letter printed March 29 (ideas) was unbalanced without an alternate viewpoint. I disagree. The publishing of this resignation brought balance.

Let’s say when you were hired, you signed a contract stating: “If you achieve this, you will receive a bonus.” You meet your obligations. Wouldn’t you expect your boss to live up to the company’s agreement?

When Congress bailed out AIG, management’s first thought should have been to live up to legally binding obligations. If Congress had read the bill it passed, it could have changed it so funds could not be used for bonuses.

Without the public outcry, Congress would never have said a word about the bonuses. Some CEOs of bailed-out companies opted to take a $1 salary. I haven’t heard anyone in Congress willing to give up his pay or benefits to reduce the deficit.

If you’re upset about the AIG bonuses, why are you not screaming about the auto unions for refusing to give up pay and benefits? Is it because they have a legal and binding contract?

David Briscoe
McLeansville

“N.C. motorists pay more for uninsured” (letter, March 30) was right on the money. My uninsured-underinsured coverage also increased, as did the premium, from $88 to $154, and when I called to question this I was also told about the state law.

How do we get these un- and underinsureds, anyway? When we renew our vehicle license, as I did last week, we have to furnish proof of insurance. And in the case of an uninsured person driving someone else’s car, he or she is covered by that car owner’s insurance.

I think it’s a scam, and I suggest contacting the N.C. insurance commissioner, Wayne Goodwin, at 1201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1201, or 800-546-5664, or www.ncdoi.com

Mae Bray
Reidsville

I’m writing in reference to Joe Killian’s March 27 article about administrators teaching courses at UNCG. There were many references to these administrators teaching for “free.”

These administrators are salaried employees. Adding an extra responsibility to a salaried employee is hardly having him or her do something for “free.” Chancellor Linda Brady is making $315,000 a year. If she has to work an extra 2.5 hours a week (the length of one class), so be it. The chancellor, along with the other six-figured-salary deans, aren’t doing anything for “free.” In fact, they are being compensated handsomely. Even though the school’s budget is being cut by 7 percent, their salaries are not being cut.

It is at best disingenuous, and at worst insulting to taxpayers, to act as though they’re volunteering for the good of the university, which is exactly what this article does. As an alumnus, I’m not surprised by the arrogance shown by these UNCG employees patting themselves on the back for doing their jobs.

However, the News & Record doesn’t have to give credence to these claims. Many workers, especially in these economic times, are being given more job-related responsibilities. UNCG administrators are no different. They most certainly are not doing anything for “free.”

Todd Schmidt
Greensboro

The General Assembly must consider the long-term consequences of Gov. Perdue’s proposed budget cuts. One such cut decreases the budget of the N.C. Governor’s School by 60 percent. Although there are undoubtedly difficult decisions to be made, we must find ways to survive this hard economic time without destroying all that makes us globally and nationally competitive when we emerge on the other side.

Reducing Governor’s School to a single campus simply does not meet that standard.
Although very good and important progress has been made in recent years regarding the achievement of low-performing, at-risk students in North Carolina, we must be careful not to stop supporting our state’s highest-achieving students in our quest to meet No Child Left Behind. We must ensure that, as we lift low-achieving students up, we don’t allow high-achieving students to fall into mediocrity.

The structure of the Governor’s School program dictates that every LEA has two students automatically admitted. For our least-advantaged exceptional students from our poorest counties, Governor’s School may be the only academic enrichment they ever receive.

Governor’s School is the best investment North Carolina makes in these students, and it’s an investment our representatives must take every step to protect.

Mary Small
Greensboro

As reported April 2, Sheriff BJ Barnes described an upcoming program that would automatically deny bond to suspects “in the country illegally.” It is ironic that the term “illegal” is used because it would be quite illegal to deny bond to any person charged with a non-capital offense in North Carolina. Our state law provides that a “defendant charged with a non-capital offense must have conditions of pretrial release.”

Furthermore, since when does Sheriff Barnes set bail? Our law provides that a “judicial official” sets conditions of pretrial release. That would be a magistrate or a judge.

While Sheriff Barnes loves to use immigrants as political tools, recent reports have found the Immigration and Nationality Act (287 (g) agreements are costing localities millions to implement. Worse, trust between police and community is eroding, and accusations of racial profiling are on the rise. Perhaps it’s time for Sheriff Barnes to stop trying to interpret and enforce federal regulatory laws and start reading the laws he is sworn to enforce.

Jeremy McKinney
Greensboro

The writer is an immigration lawyer at the McKinney and Justice Law Firm in Greensboro.

This letter is in response to one published March 26 concerning access to our community colleges by illegal immigrants. I, for one, am disappointed that anyone could possibly advocate letting them have access when there are so many legal citizens who are trying to get in and can’t for whatever reasons. This country is a “melting pot” of legal immigrants who have been naturalized properly over the years and should have access to all the things that would help them become better citizens and hardworking families without having to worry about the ones who are here illegally.

There is just something wrong with us “giving the farm away” to these illegal immigrants, giving them our jobs, free medical care when their children are born citizens, and not paying taxes like the rest of us do. Our taxes are high enough.

Take the jobs away, do not let the children of illegal immigrants become automatic citizens, and for God’s sake, make English our official language instead of us having to learn their languages in our own country, and I’ll guarantee that they will leave and we won’t have to send them back on taxpayer dollars.

Roger Pyatt
Greensboro

Your March 27 editorial, “Perdue’s budget cuts would crowd prisons,” makes a very good point in suggesting that reducing sentences for nonviolent offenders and increasing the use of community-based alternatives to incarceration should be considered as ways to reduce overcrowding in the state’s prisons. Closing small prisons and simply sending the inmates into already-overcrowded facilities is not a very smart way to save money.

Although I agree with the editorial overall, there is one statement I think should be clarified. You say that “prisoners don’t vote.” Unless a prisoner is a convicted felon, he or she is eligible to vote and should be offered the chance to vote absentee whenever an election is held.

Most of the inmates in minimum-security prisons are probably not felons. I was involved in an effort to help inmates register and vote in last November’s election and was impressed with the large number of inmates who were eager to exercise their right to vote. If prisoners don’t vote, it is probably because no one is making sure they are given the opportunity to vote.

Sue Jezorek
Greensboro

If you work with or parent a person with a disability who needs to access public services in the area, this is great information:

Failure or refusal to provide a service that is offered to other people to a disabled person is discrimination. Under the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) it is unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favorably than other people for a reason related to their disability.

Service providers now have to make “reasonable adjustments” to the way they deliver their services so that disabled people can use them.

Recently my son was denied access to a local skating rink because of his disability. He was told that he could come back and skate when the cleaning crew was there.

Attorneys and advocates for the Disability Rights of North Carolina organization (www.disabilityrightsnc.org) stepped in and made it clear to the owners of the rink that they should change their stance or face a lawsuit they wouldn’t win. Restrictions were removed and he can again enjoy skating with everyone else.

Allowing disabled people access to public services is not only the right thing to do, it’s the law.

Donna Pless
High Point

The new reality show, “Osbournes Reloaded,” featuring Ozzy Osbourne (a heavy metal rock legend, for those of you unfamiliar with him) was to air Tuesday night, March 31, on WGHP (Channel 8) at 9:30 p.m.

The News & Record had it in its TV listings, and on the show preceding it, “American Idol,” they mentioned it at the end of their broadcast and told viewers to stay tuned for it.

To my surprise, the show was replaced by “Deal or Dud,” a local news segment, and aired later that night at 12:30 a.m. — a fact I didn’t discover until days later.

Granted, the Osbournes’ antics and behavior are not suited for everyone, but Fox 8 had no right to make this decision for us and use a substitute program. At least they could have made it clearer that the show had been delayed.

Ironically, the Fox network airs other shows earlier in the evening that contain bad language, sex or violence. There’s a double standard here.

We live in a democracy, and the people should decide whether or not to view a particular show and not be subjected to the station’s censorship.

Dominic Mega
Greensboro

Regarding unemployment payments, foreclosures and health care problems:

I am fortunate enough not to be personally affected by any of the above categories. But just how much help are people getting? Scanning the newspapers, I don’t see a lot of help for
individual families.

Are unemployment benefits enough to feed and house a family?

Are foreclosures being stopped, and is health care being provided?

I honestly want to know. Can Social Services or the Greensboro City Council or Guilford County commissioners tell us?

Ed Philpott
Greensboro

Enough is enough. Even smokers have a breaking point.

State and federal government revenues generated by adult smokers in North Carolina are estimated to be $757.9 million per year. Gov. Beverly Perdue and some legislators think this is still not enough.

They propose to plug the hole in the budget by raising the taxes once again on cigarettes. This issue isn’t real complicated, but the rocket scientists in Raleigh can’t seem to figure it out.

They keep raising the taxes on tobacco to pay for everything from health care to buyouts.
As prices go up, demand drops and then they have to come back for more.

Most smokers are low-income and are paying a disproportionate amount of these taxes. But in order to keep up the spending habits in Washington and in Raleigh, any revenue source so politically incorrect is vulnerable.

We can’t have it both ways. North Carolina can’t depend on tobacco to pay the bills and keep passing laws, regulations and tax increases that continue to cause smoking to decline. As long as tobacco products are legal in North Carolina, they should not be targeted to produce a revenue stream for legislators.

Joyce Krawiec
Kernersville

Regarding Leonard Pitts’ April 1 column (“Is it time to legalize drug use?”): Yes, I guess it is.
Let’s go ahead and do it since we are apparently in the midst of tearing down each and every tradition that has made America great for more than 200 years.

I would even take it a step further. Let’s go ahead and legalize murder, rape, larceny, speeding and anything else currently illegal. We haven’t been able to stop any of those crimes either. We won’t even need police anymore. Think of the savings to the taxpayer. Excuse me, the extra money government will have to waste — I mean, spend.

Come on, Americans, enough is enough. Without laws, there is no freedom. Enforcement of existing laws and election of judges who properly interpret them are essential to holding our country together, and maintaining our freedom.

Jim Hiatt
Whitsett

Smokers have rights. They have the right to smoke and up their chances of getting lung cancer, mouth cancer, emphysema, heart issues and the worst breath and yellow teeth around, to name a few of their rights.

Nonsmokers have rights, too. They can choose to be as healthy as possible by not inhaling the carcinogens in cigarette, cigar or pipe smoke.

When nonsmokers are in public places, they aren’t infringing on a smoker’s health by not smoking. When a smoker is smoking in a public place, he is causing me and other nonsmokers to raise our risk of developing health issues. They are infringing on my rights.
Many states already have a law where there is no smoking in any public place, including bars, and their business hasn’t suffered. Nonsmokers can finally go to a night club and not raise their risk of smoking-related health issues.

I am tired of the whining from smokers about their rights to smoke in public places. Smoking kills and if they choose to raise their risk of early death, that’s fine, but they shouldn’t raise mine at the same time.

I have rights, too.

Beverly Monical
Greensboro

Your Easter egg hunt story by Nancy H. McLaughlin (April 5) needs more truth — like the adults who acted like sharks in a feeding frenzy.

Children got trampled or hurt and needed medical care. The police could not get medical assistance to the field. My grandson got a black eye from one such adult and a broken heart.
This was not thought out at all and endangered the children. The whole truth should be reported and adults need to see what animals they were and be ashamed of the example they set.

Carolyn Vetter
High Point

The “Triad’s silver linings” of new jobs the editors tout (editorial, April 3) are tinged with tarnish.
While it is true that practically any job is a good job in a deep recession, a disconcerting lack of forward-thinking local leadership is reflected in the fact that none of the industries mentioned as bringing employment to the Triad are in the fields that will drive the reshaping of our economy for the 21st century.

As businesses and consumers retool to meet the challenges of reducing energy use, cutting harmful emissions, and acting in ways that enhance our health and quality of life, the industries currently growing in our communities will become less relevant.

The 1,000 worldwide layoffs Fed­Ex announced this week cast further doubt on staking the region’s economic future on the success of the shipper’s soon-to-open hub.
We, as a community, need to be proactive in making the Triad into a leader in sustainable industries that will endure and lead the way in the new economy.

People should be put to work retrofitting buildings and infrastructure to conserve resources and designing and building technologies that will enhance our standard of living as well as the health of both ourselves and the natural systems upon which life depends.

Malcolm Kenton
Greensboro

On April 16, Guilford County commissioners will vote on rezoning for 1226 Guilford College Road that, if passed, will have an adverse affect on our properties. We live in The Highlands, which is directly behind the property. The proposal is to rezone it to light industrial for self-storage warehouses.

The Highlands is a well-established residential neighborhood where we and others have chosen to live. There are a neighborhood bank, grocery store and small shops nearby, but no industrial property anywhere near us. Please help us convince commissioners that we want to keep our neighborhood residential so that our homes maintain their value.

Due to the recession, our homes are all that many of our residents have left. If allowed, other industrial uses won’t be far behind, which will certainly detract from the beauty of our neighborhood and ultimately hurt property values.

Nancy J. Kennon
Jamestown

Am I the only one asking this? After spending 45 minutes speaking to four different people on my cell phone about my Internet connection not working, the best answer I received was a person willing to make an appointment within two days to have a look.

I would like to know that if Time Warner is going to charge for time spent on the Internet, can we expect a discount or refund for time not spent on the Internet because of lack of services paid for?

David Manley
Summerfield

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Margaret Pinnix

I read the Counterpoint written by Otis Hairston on March 18 in the News & Record. Kimmerly Milner, a Greensboro College alumna (March 28), misrepresented the facts in her rebuttal by stating that Hairston accused President Craven Williams and Greensboro College of racism. He made absolutely no mention of racism.

But since you want to inject racism into the conversation, Ms. Milner, I will say you are absolutely right. We are seeing in our community environmental racism.

The predominantly white Greensboro College has come into my community and destroyed the peaceful environment I have grown accustomed to over the past 40 years.

I listen to the yelling by Greensboro College athletes and whistle- and horn-blowing by the coaches, a majority of whom are white.

There is illegal parking on our streets by white students. There is yelling in our community by the Greensboro recreation department’s soccer program, which is predominantly white.
There are bright lights shining in my windows at night by this predominantly white college. White athletes are coming into our private yards to retrieve balls.

All of the above has destroyed the peaceful environment of our community by a private white, predominantly United Methodist college. This is called environmental racism. Every United Methodist should be ashamed of their support of Williams and Greensboro College in their attempt to destroy our community.

Not only does Otis Hairston oppose the project by Greensboro College, but more than 90 percent of this community also opposes this intrusive sports park.

Ms. Milner, look at the plans of your alma mater and ask if you would want this in your front or back yard.

If your answer is yes, please speak to Williams and invite him to begin planning his sports park for your community. Then, this issue will be resolved.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Counterpoint:

By Sandra Kerns

I write in response to the Saturday, April 4, “Local” front-page story, “On bomb range, this is a good day.”

Your reporter, Sonja Elmquist, must not have been talking with the neighbors on the west side of the McLeansville community surrounding the Osborne Sewer Plant off of Huffine Mill Road and other adjoining properties.

Some of us have been in contact with the bomb squad over the past weeks about the severity of the blasts coming from the range, which adjoins the Osborne Sewage Plant. Bomb Squad Sgt. Chuck Brown responded to us that he was just doing his job, which tells me that these blasts of dynamite and other explosives are to become a regular event. You see, during the day when many of the area residents are on their jobs, those of us who are at home are the ones who hear and feel the actions taking place nearby. Last week there were strong, loud blasts going off for some time.

As poultry farmers, we can only imagine the distress this creates on the animals. Also, with the jarring that takes place, how long will it be before our wells, the foundations of our homes and walls begin to crack? And what happens, Greensboro, when one of the holding stations at the sewage plant cracks?

Yes, we were aware of the “booms” Friday, and thanks for the warning of the booms on Saturday. You were correct, on the dot.

At 2:45 p.m. the explosions began and — guess what — on Saturday afternoon it was a short practice and not very loud either!

Perhaps Saturday is a good day on the range.

The writer lives in McLeansville.

Where is Greensboro’s common courtesy?

I have lived here most of my life, and I have always been proud to call it my hometown. That was, until last Saturday during the egg hunt at the Grasshoppers’ stadium.

At a time when most children should be excited about the games and fun event, there were instead heartbreaks and tears, anger and frustration.

And who was to blame? The parents.

Most people would want to set a good example for their children, teaching them manners and how to share. Instead, I had to deal with parents who encouraged their children to cut in line.

This is not the only time that I have seen Greensboro lose its common courtesy. Is it really necessary to cut people off when driving, never bothering to use your turn signal? At a time in our lives when everyone is struggling to make ends meet, you would think that people would stop and be blessed for what they have instead of what they can take from others.

This is a beautiful city with so much to give. It would be nice to see its people do the same, instead of thinking, “What can I get?”

Angelia Horm
Randleman

Throwing eggs out of a helicopter and then telling a crowd of what looked like mostly adults to ready, set, go?

Whoever the idiots were who planned the Easter egg hunt Saturday at New Bridge Bank Park, they ought to be banned from ever having anything to do with children again. The little ones’ faces told a sad story.

It’s a wonder someone wasn’t killed in this stampede.

Kristin Christensen
Raleigh

I hope that you will join me in thanking Sen. Kay Hagan for making the right choice for her constituents by voting against an amendment to cut the estate tax in the budget considered by the Senate.

The president’s budget already cuts the estate tax, protecting 99.7 percent of all estates. The amendment passed by the Senate gives tens of billions of dollars to the richest people in this country over 10 years.

The estate tax only affects estates starting at $7 million per couple.

Only three in every 1,000 very wealthy estates benefit from the amendment adopted by the Senate. Claims that small businesses and family farms would be hurt without additional cuts are simply false.

Charities, on the other hand, could be hurt because the estate tax creates incentives for charitable giving.

We expect our representatives in Washington to use our resources wisely and to establish priorities that most affect the people back home.

These funds would be better used to reform health care or reduce the deficit.

Sen. Hagan made the right choice for the people of North Carolina. I applaud her and urge her to continue to stand up for us in Washington.

Elaine Mejia
Raleigh

The writer is director of the N.C. Budget and Tax Center, an arm of the Raleigh-based N.C. Justice Center, a research and advocacy organization.

What’s the chance of adding a regular column by Walter Williams, the black economist, and removing the tirelessly racist Leonard Pitts?

Consider poor Leonard’s March 25 column on hate, in which he tells us about the Southern Poverty Law Center report, which cites a 50 percent increase in hate groups since 2000.
Soooo, there oughta be more hate crime, right? Well, not exactly.

In the FBI Strategic Plan 2004-2009, under the sub-heading “Civil Rights Forecast,” it is reported that “most hate crime statistics have remained relatively constant,” the exception being an increase in crimes against Muslims and Arabs since 9/11.

Whom are we gonna believe here?

Let’s remember the SPLC is a group of self-appointed lefties whose business is hating other groups. They can call anyone a hater or racist because they are funded by leftist wing-nuts like themselves.

Indeed, the SPLC, like the NAACP (racist by the definition of its title, incidentally) and individuals like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and, of course, poor Leonard, are together a pack of scoundrels preying like hyenas on the carcass of racial division.

Walter Williams, on the other hand, writes about the human condition, transcending race. Please dump the racist.

Chuck Forrester
Greensboro

Want to see the Bernie Madoffs of tomorrow? Take a peek at the long-lived tradition of the Easter egg hunt. I hated these events when I was growing up and I don’t much care for ’em now.

As a kid, I’d rather been candy-less and egg-free than to claw and elbow for these spoils. And I certainly wasn’t going to lose any skin for some eggs, dyed or not. Perhaps it’s the “must-win” inherent competitiveness that some of us possess from birth. Or maybe it’s an acquired skill encouraged by parents.

Regardless, I suspect Bernie Madoff was a champion egg-hunter as a child; probably a top-notch piñata kid, for that matter; and, of course, even throughout adulthood, the quintessential trick-or-treater.

There was, however, some encouragement in the news Sunday morning (“Crowd scrambles at egg hunt: With the stadium overflowing, many others are turned away,” April 4).

It appears that at the end of the first Triad Egg Drop at the ballpark last weekend, there was a little redistribution of wealth; older kids sharing with the young ones. Not sure if this is an inherent trait or not, but it’s sure easy to see the striking similarities between this event and the recent goings-on in the “grown-up” world.

Wonder how many credit default egg-swaps took place.

Jeff Curley
Greensboro

Gov. Perdue recently stated, “North Carolina law enforcement will be going after speeders who recklessly endanger our citizens. Speed is the leading cause of crashes on our highways. I urge motorists to slow down and obey the speed limit.”

The problem with that statement is that it is verifiably false!

Here are the facts, according to a National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and published in July 2008. Only 5 percent of all highway crashes were a direct result of excessive speed. This statistic can be found in the chart on page 23 of the NHTSA report. It lists “Traveling Too Fast” at 5 percent.

As shown by the NHTSA report, this issue is actually not about safety at all but about raising revenue for the state. The problem is that they are getting this money from many people who have lost jobs and are least able to afford the exorbitant fines and increased insurance premiums.

Please call Gov. Perdue at (919) 733-4240 and tell her that increasing state revenue by harassing motorists is not the right path to her desired second term in office

Norman Simpers Jr.
Conover

In Sue Jezorek’s letter published on April 6 (“Many prison inmates still have the right to vote”), she talked about having worked to help prison inmates register and vote last fall. I remember reading in this newspaper about the League of Women Voters working toward that goal.
I thought at the time, “What a misguided effort.”

Prison inmates have not shown themselves to be good citizens. Otherwise, they would be out in society, working to support themselves and their families. They also would be paying child support and taxes.

In the past, citizens were denied the right or wrongly discouraged from voting, but today federal laws prohibit doing this. Anyone who really cares about voting can register, become informed and vote.

Uninformed and unqualified persons shouldn’t be herded to the polls by Democrat vote ropers such as ACORN and the League of Women Voters.

Charles W. Hodges
Greensboro

For those arts lovers in the Triad, now is the time to bring your support to the table. Having recently promoted and experienced the Friends of Gateway C.A.F.E. events, it was very obvious to us that the economic recession is taking its toll on the local arts community.

The Triad had some of the best culinary, musical, theatrical and visual arts talent in the country, and we thank all artists for your community support in very tough times. It is very important that citizens of the Triad do what they can to support all of the arts, the artists, the arts events and the performing arts.

Please visit the many galleries, go to a live play, dine at a gourmet venue and patronize these great performers right here in our communities. Without the arts, there is no soul, no vibrancy, no taste, no vision and no emotion.

You can make a big difference, and your gains will be your communities’ gains with your support of the creative arts.

Keith, Lisa and Krae Bunch
Greensboro

These writers are members of the Friends of Gateway Foundation.

Joyce Krawiec’s argument (letter, “Lawmakers can’t have it both ways with tobacco,” April 7) that the cigarette tax is unfair because it disproportionately burdens smokers whom she claims are mostly lower income, is short-sighted and a bit selfish.

The big picture on this new cigarette tax is long-term benefits for all of us.

Since lower-earning individuals make up the largest number of smokers, it is safe to say that smokers also make up a disproportionate number of people with no health insurance because most of the uninsured in this country are from lower-earning income brackets.

Smoking has been proven to be a high-cost cause of medical treatments, for smokers and those who have gotten ill through secondhand smoke as well.

Who pays to subsidize the health care costs for these poor, uninsured smokers? The rest of us.

So perhaps paying a little more for cigarettes might be enough to give someone an incentive to quit and, in turn, be a little healthier for it. And then we all benefit.

Debbie Cook
High Point

Our health care system absolutely needs to reduce costs, but the answer cannot be to deny patients the right care.

Yet, this counterproductive course is exactly what lawmakers are considering for patients involved in the State Health Plan.

The Senate has already approved and the House is mulling measures that would raise co-payments for specialties such as chiropractic care to $60 to $70 per visit. This not only will leave many unable to afford care, it will actually cost our health care system money.

Numerous national studies show that chiropractic care helps patients get better faster and saves health care systems money by eliminating the need for more expensive treatments.

In California, for example, a study found that chiropractic coverage lowered the rate of costly treatments such as MRIs and reduced hospital stays by 41 percent. Dramatically raising the cost of chiropractic care to back pain sufferers may well push patients into these pricier treatments.

In a recent poll, 83 percent of North Carolinians said the price hikes under consideration are too high (www.affordablehealthnc.com). They’re right.

For patients and for the viability of our system, access to the right care should be non-negotiable.

Dr. Rod C. Brown
Summerfield

The writer is president, the N.C. Chiropractic Association.

Counterpoint:

By Vicky Allison

Standing in the food stamp line in the 1940s was tough. Waiting in the food stamp office to be seen in Guilford County in 2009 is even tougher.

You go in and wait in a line to be asked what you are there for — say, to get an appeal from a food stamp decision that went against you because the food stamp worker wouldn’t return your calls, claims to not have gotten your faxes of pertinent information, and denies your food stamps.

You are given a blue ticket like at the carnival, and told to wait to be called. You sit down in a large and smelly room with about 55 other people needing help, and you wait.

Three hours later you are still waiting and the people around you have come and gone and you are still waiting. When you attempt to get information about how long you must wait, no one knows and treats you with resentment that you even asked.

The organization in the food stamp waiting rooms changes much like an amoeba. Once the office was a bank of cubbies from which people called the numbers. Everyone was helped much in a hit-and-miss fashion.

Today the office has more cubbies for employees, but they are all empty. The cubbies with people working in them have now been color-coded for a secret reason no one seems to know outside of the inventor of the color code system.

And you still wait, by color and ticket number, for most of an eight-hour day and are told in the end some workers have gone to lunch, or left, but you will have to come back tomorrow and start all over.

I beg for help for us low-paid and needy persons visiting the food stamp office. Help and a lot of prayer.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

If Barack Obama had been president in 65 million B.C., we’d still have dinosaurs today; they would have been “too big to fail.”

Dan Flak
Greensboro

Regarding the item (Inside Scoop, March 23 )about the 20-year-old N.C. A&T sophomore who is 10 days too young to run for the Greensboro City Council in 2009:

I think that the student, Bernard Foster, should be able to run for the City Council or for any other political office.

All adult citizens should have the same legal and political rights. Eighteen-year-olds can vote, pay taxes, buy tobacco, gamble at casinos, get tattoos, own a gun, sign contracts, have children or abortions, and they can be drafted, audited or executed, but they can’t run for City Council.

I would like to encourage Mr. Foster and the citizens of Greensboro to start a petition drive to get a referendum on the ballot that would allow all adult citizens to run for mayor or City Council.

All registered voters should have the same political rights. Don’t you agree?

Chuck Mann
Greensboro

I was dismayed by the bitterness that came across in Otis Hairston’s Counterpoint (March 18).
I have walked through the Warnersville community with him and James Griffin and had them explain to me what Greensboro College planned for the community.

Greensboro College doesn’t plan to destroy the Warnersville neighborhood or its history.

Is it correct that the college has offered every student that lives in Warnersville a full scholarship, if they meet academic standards? Has the college made provisions to renovate J. C. Price School into a museum and facility for early childhood education?

I hope the next generation of Warnersville residents will not be penalized because Mr. Hairston is looking to the past rather than the future.

Dorothy Peters
Greensboro

In 2001, the success of reforming our mental heath system hinged on the premise that implementing better patient community services would lead to fewer long-term hospital admissions statewide.

Lacking forethought and brimming with overconfident leadership, these radical policies failed. The continuum of community programs has been slow in developing, while closing Dorothea Dix and John Umstead Hospitals became an obsession for the powerfully elite who would profit most.

The Dorothea Dix closure plan plainly states that no mental hospitals can be closed until these services are working adequately and responsibly. However, that has not stopped three previous secretaries of the DHHS and our General Assembly from ignoring laws and statutes while plowing ahead to terminate these facilities.

Govs. Jim Hunt and Mike Easley purposely de-funded state mental health services, rendering Dix and Umstead impotent from realistically functioning as workable future options.
State and local officials, developers, park advocates and N.C. State University all stand to benefit handsomely once the Dix property is carved up. Our less fortunate are obviously holding up progress, right?

Albert Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it.” Mental health survivors beware . . . it’s like deja vu all over again.

Steve Church
Willow Spring

The letter from Mary Small, which was published on April 6, made a number of very strong points concerning the importance of the North Carolina Governor’s School.

We would like to make personal statement as parents of a student who attended the Governor’s School as part of her high school education. Our daughter’s experiences at Governor’s School, more than any other single educational experience, helped her blossom as a student, as a musician, and as a person. It helped her establish a path of success and accomplishment.

It would be a great loss to the state and for future generations of North Carolina students if the North Carolina Governor’s School is gutted.

Allen and Mary Lee Rembert
Greensboro

When I grew up, the backbone of North Carolina and Virginia was tobacco. Now, all of a sudden, the health care industry has done a lot of studies on what tobacco does to the human body.

That is really good for the insurance companies to raise the cost to make bigger killer prices off of companies and individuals.

I read in the paper about them trying to let the liquor stores open up on Sundays. I understand they also are going to raise taxes on alcohol.

They need to do a study on the kinds of health problems alcohol causes. I guarantee they won’t raise the taxes half as much as they did on the cigarettes.

The big shots and politicians can still drink and smoke, when and wherever they please. Money is what talks and the big shots and politicians have it. But the question is, how many people who were drinking have driven a car that killed someone? Just call on Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

If you can’t compete with the big dogs, stay on the porch. I’m sitting on the step.

James Lewis
Reidsville

A debate on facts behind the Jordan Lake rules is important. However the editorial, “The Price of Water,” had a few inconsistencies.

It speaks to local government’s fears about how many retention ponds will need to be put in to reach existing development goals. This is only one of many options available to reach nutrient reduction targets.

In January, City Councilman Mike Barber said that most of the nutrient pollution could be eliminated by switching fertilizer across the Triad. This is exactly the type of solution the rules encourage local governments to use; fertilizer ordinances are just one low cost option available.
The editorial also down plays the Haw River’s contribution to the lake. The truth is that the Haw River arm is impaired, independent of the rest of the lake, and it would still need to be cleaned under federal and state mandates even if the rest of the lake didn’t exist.

Wastewater treatment plants would have to be upgraded even without the Jordan Lake rules. For those of you who oppose the Jordan Lake rules, I recommend reading the actual rules and not relying on what others say they will do.

Kristina Millhiser
Greensboro

The following is a counterpoint.

By Joe Oots

Guilford County commissioners have a long tradition of supporting Communities In Schools (CIS) affiliates in Greensboro and High Point with funding through the Department of Social Services.

Those funds pay a portion of salaries of site coordinators at schools. These vital and necessary positions are the bread and butter of CIS.

These employees develop personal relationships with students and families. They serve as teachers, counselors, social workers, advocates and trusted friends to some of our are most vulnerable students.

They also match students with volunteer tutors, mentors and help connect them to resources outside of the school for needed services.

Unfortunately, that funding has been excluded from the most recent county budget draft after over 10 years of support. While the economic challenges facing county leaders are daunting, it’s imperative that CIS continue receiving these funds.

CIS, collaborating with Guilford County Schools, has made great progress in bettering our community by improving the lives of many of our most vulnerable young citizens and their families.

CIS has helped schools meet Annual Yearly Progress goals by improving student achievement, decreasing violence and classroom interruptions and decreasing the dropout rate.

Not providing funds will have unwanted consequences for county citizens for years to come. Since we work with kids at almost every grade level, missing just one year of services will set children on the wrong course that may take years to correct, if at all.

As we work through troubled economic times it’s important that we continue investing in our children or our future economic challenges will be even greater.

Funding these vital positions comes at a tiny cost of just 49 cents per county resident. Keep the tradition of investing in our children and restore funding to the Department of Social Services budget.

The writer lives in High Point and is chairman of the board, Communities In Schools of High Point.

At the risk of diminishing the reported service rendered by the law officer who shot and stopped the shooter in the nursing home, how can the media and law enforcement honestly describe the officer as a “hero” for doing what he is paid to do with little mention of the real hero, the civilian who was shot but still managed to get inside and warn the staff of the impending danger?
It seems to me praise is either mistakenly awarded or selectively bestowed! Are we teaching our children to weave tangled webs?

Al Campbell
High Point

I was pleased to see that someone is committed to a “water budget” for the region (Ideas front, April 5). I was disappointed in the lack of specifics. The authors state that “100,000 gallons will support 1,000 households.” Does this mean for one day? There is concern for wells that pump 100,000 gallons of water per day. What about the thousands of people who pump up to 1,000 gallons a day?

No data were presented to show the balance sheet of water. How much is coming down from rain? How much is running off impermeable surfaces? How much rain does it take to recharge our aquifers? What are the limits on our water use with today’s technology? What do we sacrifice when more water is sucked out of the ground than is allowed to recharge the aquifer system?

And then, nothing is mentioned about how we can save water. How much leaks out of the supply lines? How much do “green plumbing” shower heads and low-flow toilets save? What is the difference between eating vegetarian and eating beef in terms of total water usage? The coming crisis in fresh water supply requires attention. I hope you provide more information.

Kurt Lauenstein
Greensboro

As a new North Carolina and Greensboro resident, from the deep South, not the North, I was delighted with the election results.

In Sen. Kay Hagan, we seemed to have a fresh break from the old, failed policies of Bush and the Republicans. After reading her views on Obama’s budget in the News & Record, however, I wonder what has really changed. Hagan appears to have discovered her inner Republican, demanding sudden fiscal responsibility after eight years of a spending orgy.

When Hagan insists that agricultural and military spending should be increased but other domestic programs should be cut, I hear Jesse Helms, Elizabeth Dole and the status quo, not a modern Democrat who recognizes we are living in a time of financial crisis caused in large part by such poor priorities. The people who voted for Hagan and all North Carolina citizens need expanded and cheaper basic health care coverage. We need jobs. We need expanded aid to homeless shelters and food banks. Our schools need more and better teachers who are compensated at the high level their work deserves. Hagan needs to drop the political power play and stop opposing the new government’s efforts to help average folks.

Warren O’Brien
Greensboro

In response to Shirley Wright’s letter (April 3): My grandfather, the Rev. Otis Hairston, spent many years fighting for equal justice for the citizens of this city. I am proud now to see my father, Otis Hairston Jr., fighting for moral justice in our community.

I have seen the effects of what Greensboro College has planned for our Warnersville community. The noise, bright lights and illegal parking. I do not feel any sports park should be built in a quiet residential community. There should be laws to not allow this.

I hear of Greensboro College offering our community scholarships and a museum. But this does not change the negative impact a sports park will have on our community. If I was of college age, certainly Greensboro College would be at the bottom of the list of colleges I would want to attend because of its plans to destroy the peace and quiet of our community. It is not the right thing for any residential community.

In reading about the civil rights movement, I have read that Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders were called instigators. I am proud that Shirley Wright has considered my dad an instigator also.

W. Sidney Hairston
Greensboro

I recently e-mailed four state senators asking them to vote for the smoking ban law now in their chamber. I have received only one reply and that from Sen. Phil Berger, who wrote: “Thank you for writing. I do appreciate the opinions of my constituents. Because I believe that property and business owners have the right to control smoking on their property or business, I do not support the current version of House Bill 2.”

I disagree with him. When property or business owners open their property to public use, they come under many laws. In the case of restaurants or bars, North Carolina has rules that govern hand-washing, cooking and eating areas that must be kept to a certain standard, who can be served alcohol, etc. This is for the health and safety of the public and the establishment’s employees.

A ban of tobacco smoke will provide for the health and safety of the public and employees. Tobacco smoke is harmful. One whiff will cause my nasal passages to close, and two or three whiffs will give me a headache. There are many others who are as allergic.
Ban smoking in public places and allow nonsmokers clean air.

Sam Baxter
Greensboro

The call for universal health care is widespread. I wish to add that Medicare offers insufficient coverage for lower-income Social Security recipients.

I worked 18 years and became disabled at 41. Since then I have had two hospitalizations, the first of which cost me about $2,000 out of pocket (on basic Medicare). I could not have paid this if I had not been married. Even so, it took a year for us to pay this. After this experience, I signed with a Medicare advantage plan, and so my next hospitalization cost $550. But again, it took a year for us to pay it. This year my out-of-pocket cost for hospitalization goes up to $850.

We still have no savings, though my husband works three part-time jobs and we are frugal.
My brother recently was awarded SSI but wished to appeal to receive disability. However, knowing that on disability he would lose Medicaid and have to go on Medicare, he had to give up appealing and the possibility of more than $300 more per month in order to prevent a potential health-cost catastrophe.

People who can barely pay for their essentials should not have to pay for health care.

Mary C. Poot
Winston-Salem

I too was very upset with what used to be one of my favorite TV channels, WGHP (Channel 8), for not allowing us to choose to watch the “Osbournes Reloaded” or not. That is the cable customer’s decision, not Fox 8’s.

Maybe they thought it best not to air the show, but they should have given some type of notice, like running the time change at the bottom of the TV screen. A lot of us had our DVRs set to record the Osbournes, only to get up and find some dumb “Deal or Dud” show, missing the later airing of the Osbournes altogether. If that had been “American Idol” or some other show Fox approved of, I guarantee they would have let us know. We’re going through enough in this world about what we can and can’t do. Please don’t start telling us what we can and can’t watch.

Patricia Ruggiero
Greensboro

I agree with the lady from High Point (Carolyn Vetter, “Adults spoiled the day for kids at city egg hunt,” April 8). This was the worst event I have attended in Greensboro. Anyone in their right mind would know that you don’t group children ages 3 to 8 in a running event. No allowances were made for the 1- and 2-year-olds, whom the hunt should have been for.

There were no people on the field to help keep the crowd under control.

To add insult to injury, they charged $3 per person if you did not have a free ticket given out to Guilford County schoolchildren. In the future, I will have my Easter egg hunt in my front yard.

Lois Williams
Greensboro

Kathleen Parker (“Obama’s unmacho diplomacy,” April 8), you are the big dog only if you are willing to be the big dog. And other “smaller” (alpha wannabee) dogs can spot timidity and fear a mile away.

Did Obama emote strength or weakness? Undoubtedly we soon shall see.

Mike Crouch
Greensboro

The recent letter suggesting that Leonard Pitts is a racist indicates how a closed mind can alter one’s perception of reality.

To talk about race, to illuminate personal experiences about race, to educate others about racial history and inequities in our country, is not racist.

There are those who might say that people who don’t want to hear about or talk about race as a factor that affects our everyday lives and has been integral to our country’s history are the ones who are at least in denial about the significance of race in America — and, at worst, caught in a web of stereotypical views. I look forward to Pitts’ perspective and appreciate his experience and his fairness about the many issues that confront us today.

In my opinion, he offers a needed view and is one of the most perceptive commentators in your paper.

Gabrielle Beard
Greensboro

Let me point out that I am a nonsmoker, do not do it, do not enjoy the smell of it and do not allow it in my house. During the winter I have been known to put a blanket on the porch so that my smoking friends can enjoy “sucking death” (as I call it).

All that being said, I believe that Beverly Monical has it wrong (letter, “Smokers often infringe on nonsmokers rights,” April 8). Smokers and nonsmokers all have their rights. Yet, businesses owners have their rights, too.

If a business, be it a bar, restaurant or whatever, decides to allow smoking, that is its choice. Yes, it might lose some nonsmoking business; again, that is its choice.

Yes, the nonsmokers might not like it and decide to not go in to that business; that is their choice. They can go somewhere else.

Or, if enough nonsmokers decided not to frequent the place, the business might change.

In all this conversation, no one talks about the rights of the business owner. It should not be the policing responsibility of the government. Rather, it should be the choice of the private business owner.

I do not often frequent places that allow smoking, I find it very uncomfortable. Yet, I respect their rights to allow it.

Mebane Ham
Greensboro

The current economic circumstances are forcing teens to face the reality of a volatile global economy. They need the tools to cope in the short term — and to empower them to create long-term personal financial strategies that will pave the way to stability and success.

We need to take action now to safeguard our country’s future by providing young people with financial knowledge and job skills. Hands-on, age-appropriate financial education programs, such as the curriculum offered by Junior Achievement, provide a viable option for implementing a plan right away.

For example, here in Greensboro, 4,000 students are already participating in Junior Achievement programs that focus on financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.
Now is the time to educate teens about paychecks and saving, about credit and its costs, about budgets and bill-paying.

Do we want them to take this economic knowledge and soar like eagles, or live without it, hiding in fear and avoidance, like ostriches, with their heads buried under a mountain of debt?

Cyndy Hayworth
Greensboro

Cyndy Hayworth is president of Junior Achievement in Greensboro.

Have you ever wondered where money from the North Carolina lottery is going? If Gov. Perdue has her way, at least some of it definitely won’t go toward the school system. This is exactly why some people didn’t want the lottery in the first place.

State government shouldn’t have the right to spend our money any way it pleases. It should not be spent toward state bills and other things. The school system is considering teacher furloughs and increasing class sizes. We should all petition and make sure that all money from the lottery goes toward education.

Charles Davis III
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

Are makeup days really necessary?

Recently, Guilford County Schools received permission from the state to make up snow days June 11, 12 and 15. Being in school after exams are done is really a waste of time.
What else could we possibly learn?

After exams teachers often allow students to watch movies or TV, use the computers or listen to music — things that students can do at home while on summer vacation or on their own free time.

Nancy Routh, a school board member and career educator, believes it doesn’t, and shouldn’t, have to be that way.

She says: “We make such a big deal out of testing that we act as if anything that comes after testing is of no use.”

On the other hand, some teachers do use these days to go into more depth in that subject — which can be good, but by then students should already have learned everything they need in that class.

Makeup days in mid-June are not necessary unless Guilford County wants students to watch movies all day.

Michael Campbell
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

I was deeply saddened when I read the front-page story, “Budget cuts inflict pain at colleges” (March 19), which involved the budget cuts at local colleges.

As a junior in high school, it disturbs me to know that reductions in the budgets of state-supported universities such as UNCG and N.C. A&T may cost me my education.

The termination of more and more professors will lead to the cramming of a great number of students into larger classes. The cuts also will leave students with a smaller selection of courses.

This causes me distress.

Meanwhile, the tuitions of these universities could skyrocket, making education more costly, especially to freshmen — even though we’re all struggling to make it through the economic drought.

Depriving our schools of their curricula and instructors is bound have a much broader effect if it’s carried on too long.

I’m just hoping that there is a chance this won’t last and these schools eventually will reverse all of their major cuts.

Raven Wilson
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

I write regarding the Guilford County Board of Education’s decision to reduce the services of technology instructors in our middle schools, a short-sighted decision that will have extreme adverse consequences. I urge the board to reconsider.
It is counterproductive to reduce technology instruction with an exam eighth-graders must pass to graduate. The board clearly fails to appreciate the role technology will play in the lives of 21st century students.
Technology instruction is no longer optional nor is it acceptable to relegate it to untrained teachers and pretend that technology will magically be integrated into the curriculum.
My 19 years in Guilford County Schools tell me it won’t happen. Five technology instructors spread out over the districts will guarantee only one thing: five instructors who spend their time with maintenance issues and not with instruction.
Our daughter is a seventh-grader at Brown Summit Middle School, which stands under this plan to lose its marvelous technology instructor. The school could serve as a model for how technology can truly be integrated into and enhance classroom instruction: a long-term goal of Guilford County Schools that is worth fighting for.
I urge you to not throw out the baby with the bath water, even in these challenging economic times.
Melanie Rodenbough
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint
By Marshall Benbow
On April 5, Lorraine Ahearn wrote in her story (“Mental health reform is ailing”) that our church, Grace Community Church, left the women from our WE! shelter at a hotel with some food and bus passes.
I felt the story implied that we had been disingenuous with our volunteers about the WE! residents’ situation, but that was not the case. The story seemed to say that the women who were supposed to go to a transitional group home ended up at the hotel as well.
We had 12 women with us when the shelter ended. All of our women meant to go to the group home were taken there that day, and most of them remain there and are well cared for (some left by choice).
Of the five women that we put up at the hotel for a week, four have moved into their own places (three into apartments, one into a rooming house).
We do not know where the fifth has gone.
It was discouraging for me to leave them in a hard place that day, but we have continued to work with them to find housing and furniture, and we meet with the women who are interested in having help in this time of transition.
On the day I spoke with Lorraine, I was discouraged, but the WE! program at Grace did provide shelter and a loving home for the women who stayed with us.

The writer is director of outreach for Grace Community Church in Greensboro.

Since state Rep. Pricey Harrison’s priceless column (March 8), there have been many responses, including the local League of Women Voters’ position on mountaintop removal to mine coal.
The state and national Leagues of Women Voters also have taken strong positions against the practices of the coal companies, which includes clear-cutting forests, loosening soil and rock with explosives, then pushing it into nearby streams and houses.
These processes have been catastrophic for West Virginia and Tennessee.
It’s a fact that coal is the single largest source of global-warming pollution in the U.S. with power plants responsible for 33 percent of the carbon-dioxide emissions. These are just some of the reasons why the leagues are taking such strong stands against the construction of new coal-fired power plants.
Burning more coal is too big a risk for all of us, increasing severe heat waves, droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, melting glaciers, and breathing problems among elders and children.
We can at least minimize this damage by stopping the construction of new coal-fired power plants. Thus, we, the League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad, ask that our legislators support House Bill 340 (the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act), introduced by Harrison, and which prohibits North Carolina utilities from buying coal from companies that use mountaintop removal to access it.
Gay Cheney
Brown Summit

The writer is natural resources chairperson for the League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad.

The current economic circumstances are forcing teens to face the reality of a volatile global economy. They need the tools to cope in the short term — and to empower them to create long-term personal financial strategies that will pave the way to stability and success.
We need to take action now to safeguard our country’s future by providing young people with financial knowledge and job skills. Hands-on, age-appropriate financial education programs, such as the curriculum offered by Junior Achievement, provide a viable option for implementing a plan right away.
For example, here in Greensboro, 4,000 students are already participating in Junior Achievement programs that focus on financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.
Now is the time to educate teens about paychecks and saving, about credit and its costs, about budgets and bill-paying.
Do we want them to take this economic knowledge and soar like eagles, or live without it, hiding in fear and avoidance, like ostriches with their heads buried under a mountain of debt?
Cyndy Hayworth
Greensboro

Cyndy Hayworth is president of Junior Achievement in Greensboro.

I have comments on two things in the April 9 issue of the News & Record.

1. Leonard Pitts is possibly the most consistently perceptive columnist I’ve ever read.
Replacing him per Chuck Forrester’s suggestion would be a serious mistake.

2. I’m sorry that Thomas Sowell doesn’t know how to deal with Karl Marx. If you’re stupid enough to accept Marxism religiously, you deserve to be disillusioned, as he apparently was.

Marx wrote during the early Industrial Revolution before a lot of information that we currently have became available. He, of course, got a lot wrong, including his utopianism, but he got some things right.

For example, he was right about economics driving politics way more than we originally acknowledged, and about the exploitation of workers and their alienation from what they produced destabilizing production (though wrong about how), and about how the overall historical trend is toward less polarization between haves and have-nots.

I’ve never been a Marxist, but Marx taught me a lot that I still value.

Sowell treats Marx like it’s all or nothing. That doesn’t surprise me. Sowell treats a lot of things like that. If you’re considering dumping a columnist, here’s my advice:

Keep the smart one.

Steven Taub
Greensboro

Counterpoint:

By Leslie Levine

As a stroke survivor and a long-time volunteer at Moses Cone Hospital — most recently at the Hospice Unit — I went to the March 31 roundtable expecting an energetic exchange of ideas about a universal health system, which is important to millions of uninsured U.S. citizens who lack guaranteed access to health care as a right of citizenship.

Tragically, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that does not do this. Instead of the energetic dialogue I had anticipated, Gov. Perdue had preselected the speakers from the large audience.

After a statement in which she spoke of our search for a health care system that delivers the right care at the right time and at the right price, she introduced a series of speakers who spoke only of egregious abuses by private health insurers that had significantly harmed their families in terms of their health but also financially.

In response to these dire complaints and in a roomful of health care professionals, not a single statement was uttered about how one might deal with these companies in a health care system.

In opposition to these abuses, we did hear about three health care projects in the state that offer the uninsured fair, reasonable and professional help.

They are:

1) A network of free clinics; 2) Community Care of N.C.; and 3) clinics that specialize in helping needy, pregnant women through their pregnancies and in caring for their babies.

I would like to add hospice and palliative organizations, which focus on end-of-life situations in order to keep the patients as comfortable as possible while assisting their families in meeting their needs during these grievous trials at no cost to the families.

Outside the meeting, demonstrators called for a single-payer system, which has been the system chosen by 28 industrial nations for their universal health care system. Germany has installed a multi-payer system.

In spite of the almost unanimous selection of single-payer systems, they come with disadvantages, including long waits to see specialists and to complete medical procedures. For a complete explanation, see on the Internet the Heritage Foundation’s “High-Priced Pain: What to Expect From a Single-Payer System.”

To see a counter-argument, check on the Internet for “The Case for Universal Health Care” by the Connecticut Coalition for Universal Health Care.

These articles present an insightful argument for a single-payer health care system.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

When someone goes on a killing spree or commits a heinous crime, they are referred to as an animal.

In letters to the editor April 8 concerning adults out of control over Easter eggs, they were compared to animals.

I would like to know which animals they are referring to. I have never seen or heard of an animal that acts as bad or as evil as a human.

Martha Carrigan
Jamestown

I read with interest Chuck Forrester’s letter in your April 9 issue in regard to columnist Leonard Pitts. Mr. Forrester has every right to express his opinions, and the News & Record has every right to print them.

However, I disagree with his tcharacterization of those who fund the Southern Poverty Law Center as “liberal wing-nuts.”

There is a trend for people on all sides of the political spectrum to use unnecessary name-calling in their statements of opinion.

I call on all who do this to consider ceasing this practice. I call on the News & Record to consider ceasing publication of such name-calling on its letters page.

Surely Americans can state their personal opinions in all forums without resorting to provocative labeling.

Civility in our national and local discourse should be our goal.

David H. Angel
Summerfield

For over 100 years the people of this country have groaned under the lack of a federal health care system.

In every effort, from Teddy Roosevelt to Harry Truman to Richard Nixon and most recently Bill Clinton, the profiteers in the health care industry have bought the necessary influence to block what should be a fundamental right of every American.

This year, we appear to have another chance to achieve what every other civilized nation on earth already has — universal health care.

Yet the versions being discussed in Washington seek only to maintain the status quo under the veil of reform.

There will be no health care reform as long as the private insurance industry is involved.

Write, call, visit your senators and Congress persons today and urge the consideration and passage of a single-payer health care plan, specifically House Bill HR676.

The private health insurance industry is another Wall Street that will bankrupt this country in 25 years through their greed unless we have the political will to say enough now.

It is the people who need to profit from our health care system and not private insurance companies.

David Southworth
Greensboro

As a student, when you look into the hallways and see “skippers” walking around and disturbing your education, what goes through your mind?

It should be, “That’s my family’s tax money that’s going to waste.”

If you are going to skip class, don’t come to school, because I take my education seriously.
It’s been said that “a mind is a terrible thing to waste,” but it seems now that it is wasted all the time.

In history, there were people who fought hard to be educated. I feel that there is not enough discipline at home, because if there was, they would be in class.

There should be more disciplinary actions by administrators to keep them from making a bad name for the school.

So the next time you see a skipper in the hall, you should say, “Hey, get to class, you’re wasting my parents’ tax money.”

James Phifer
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

Somali pirates have commandeered multiple foreign ships in demand for ransom. The crew instantly surrenders, the ships’ owners pay millions in ransom and the cycle continues.

This time pirates made the mistake of attempting to overtake an American ship and crew. The American crew resists and retakes control of the ship at the expense of the brave captain, Richard Phillips, who risks his life to become a hostage in order to ensure the safety of his crew and vessel.

The U.S. Navy arrives on scene, plans and executes a brilliant operation to take out the pirates and rescue the captain. I’ll wager the pirates will pay closer attention to the flag on the ship’s stern in future attacks.

This is a story of American exceptionalism and bravery on behalf of Capt. Phillips, his crew and the U.S. Navy.

While I don’t agree with many of President Obama’s policies, I do support his actions in not backing down to Somali pirates or Afghan terrorists.

Tom Imbus
Brown Summit

Easter’s editorial (“Still solid foundations,” April 12) addressed the unfortunate impact of the current economic climate on Greensboro’s foundations. However, the financial crisis has not affected a critical component of their ongoing success: the people who work for — and volunteer with — Action Greensboro.

From the foresight of this city’s many philanthropists to the civic-minded citizens who follow through on their dreams, Greensboro is ideal because of its people. In a classic “pay-it-forward” way, the individuals who created the foundations laid the groundwork for the folks who continue to work to improve our community.

The generous contributions of time and energy made by these thoughtful souls are a recession-proof stimulus package. Individuals willing to contribute to a cause outside themselves have made a difference for generations. And, even in the face of petty politics and tumultuous times, they proudly carry on that tradition.

Without thoughtful philanthropists and dedicated residents, we would not find Greensboro as pleasant. Thanks to so many, we can all work toward an ever greater Greensboro.

Jeb Brooks
Greensboro

I was deeply saddened when I read the front-page story, “Budget cuts inflict pain at colleges” (March 19), which involved the budget cuts at local colleges. What could this mean for the future of education?

As a junior in high school it disturbs me to know that reductions in the budgets of state-supported universities such as UNCG and N.C. A&T may hurt my education.

The termination of more and more professors will lead to larger classes and a smaller selection of courses.

Meanwhile, the tuitions of these universities could skyrocket, making education more costly, especially to freshmen — even though we’re all struggling to make it through the economic drought.

Depriving our schools of their curricula and instructors is bound to have a much broader effect if it’s carried on too long.

I’m just hoping that there is a chance this won’t last and these schools eventually will reverse all of their major cuts.

Raven Wilson
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

Recent News & Record articles use the word stimulus as a noun as if it were an entity with “free money.” In reality, the articles should read that these projects will be funded by going into debt.

This debt will be paid by current taxpayers, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The debt will be funded by foreign entities such as China and the Saudis. Our government will continue to have an ever-increasing obligation to these foreign entities.

When legislation is pending to stop the flow of jobs, correct the balance of trade, stop product dumping in the U.S., correct copyright infringement, correct oil price increases because of purposeful restriction of production; when we seriously press for independence from foreign oil, our government will be humbled into submission because these foreign entities will threaten to pull their “loans.” Our government’s dependent, and at times demeaning, posture is already obvious.

An honest assessment of these projects should read: This project is so very important that we will go into debt to have it. It is so important that we will compromise our independence. It is so important that we will be obliged to live by other countries’ desires rather than our own.

Larry Lapple
Greensboro

Regarding the story, “Collision ejects, kills 6-year-old boy” (April 11): I have been in this area since 1995. The traffic cuts through our area from High Point Road to get to Groometown Road and the same the other way.

For the last three years this area has become a speedway, it seems. I live in the Kings Pond area and our street certainly has become that way. We have been in our yard and see cars pass through fast. We do have little people playing and riding their little toys on wheels.
Maybe we need speed bumps and a patrol of some kind.

It seemed inevitable that one day this was going to happen. It has been talked about a lot among people here. My heart goes out to these families.

Ray Cockrell
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Margaret L. Bertrand, M.D. and Timothy J. Dambro, M.D.

Every year or two there is someone who comes along and implies uncertainty as to whether mammograms have value (brief, April 6).

Recently, we’ve seen sensational headlines questioning whether various screening tests for cancer are right for everyone. The authors say some organ cancers we discover may not develop into disease that will kill the patient.

This is true in the field of breast imaging but, unfortunately, we have no way of telling in advance which breast cancers could be successfully left untreated. We do know with certainty that, left untreated, most will progress beyond the breast and eventually kill the patient.

Because mammography has proven that it enables us to find tiny cancers when most treatable, we continue to join with the American Cancer Society, American College of Radiology and other organizations recommending annual screening mammography as the first line of defense. Individuals should choose a screening test, such as a mammogram, based on accumulated medical evidence, including:

-- Less than 10 percent of breast cancers occur in women with a family history of it.

-- Size matters. Women with tumors discovered and removed when they are 14 mm (1/2 inch) or smaller have a 90 percent probability of disease-free survival 20 years later, versus 40 percent in five years for women with cancers 50 mm (2 inches) in size.

-- Long-term studies trace 85 percent of the reduction in breast cancer mortality rates to screening mammography.

-- Breast cancers appear to grow more aggressively in younger (40-50) patients than in older patients, although the disease appears more frequently in older women.

We believe that an annual screening mammogram, age 40 and beyond, is one of the most important health choices that a woman can make.

Only a small percentage receiving mammograms will be found to have a breast cancer, but, by diagnosing this disease early, we can give women more options for treatment, and a better opportunity to live a long, cancer-free life.

The writers are affiliated with the Solis Bertrand Breast Center in Greensboro.

At last, words of wisdom appear on the editorial page of the News & Record. I refer to the letter from Chuck Forrester (April 9), wherein he suggests removing the pathetic, race-obsessed Leonard Pitts and replacing him with the wittier and scholarly Dr. Walter Williams. I heartily agree.

Mr. Forrester also opposes the Southern Poverty Law Center for what it is, a self-serving fund- raiser that has reached untold millions for its founder, Morris Dees, and his ruthless colleagues by soliciting contributions from gullible citizens in the name of combating mythical “hate groups.”

Thank you, Mr. Forrester. I am fortunate to subscribe to a weekly paper that provides regular pieces by Walter Williams, Pat Buchanan and Michelle Malkin, among others.

William K. Oden Jr.
Greensboro

Why are so many teens dying from drunken driving? In North Carolina, drunken driving is the leading cause of teen deaths.

I don’t understand why my peers continue to drive even though they have been drinking all night. Don’t they realize they are risking their lives, along with others?

Maybe driver’s ed teachers aren’t doing their job. When students take driver’s ed they’re suppose to realize the dangers of drinking and driving. At the end of this course, you are supposed to do a project on drinking and driving and talk about the consequences. Maybe the teachers aren’t enforcing this topic enough.

Or maybe my peers just choose not to take this topic seriously, but whatever it is, we need a different plan of teaching teens the dangers of driving while drunk.

I’m tired of hearing about people at my school and schools nearby dying of drunken driving. When your child, brother, sister or friend begins to drive, make sure you do your part and tell them about driving while drunk. So many others have failed at this important job.

Kiera Brown
High Point

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

Citizens of Greensboro, be prepared. Your city council wants to grow. Be informed. Watch the meetings, or better yet, attend one.

There seems to be no formal plan, a lack of rationale for growth, and a failing infrastructure to support the growth, but an insatiable appetite for size, scale and a need to finance it all. Review the statistics on violent crime and unemployment. Foreclosures are up, home values are down.

Can the city support more, when it struggles to take care of what it has? Listen to calls for additional revenue, for stimulus money that isn’t allocated to specific projects, for annexation that won’t be supported by city services.

Is it the time to take more from hurting families? Failure to plan is planning to fail. In a contracting economy, we need a fiscally responsible council with a responsible plan. The city council has the same ability and authority to dip into your wallets as the federal government, so vote accordingly.

Council members, don’t drag people in outlying areas into your plight. If we wanted these issues, we’d have moved inside the city. Stop annexing until you fix your own problems.

Charles Alexander
McLeansville

Counterpoint:

By Barry Baker

I cannot remain silent any longer. I grew up in Greensboro in the ’50s and ’60s and worked here until I took a job in Richmond in 1991. We retired and moved back in 2006 to a completely different type of community and regional atmosphere.

When we left, it seemed the Triad was a vibrant and exciting place to live, economically and politically, with good schools and a great business, political and cultural atmosphere to attract and retain businesses with good-paying jobs. In turn, these jobs attracted residents who increased our tax base and helped to improve our overall economy.

When we returned, it seemed that everything had fallen apart, with government leaders seeming to be more interested in bickering and outlandish headlines than looking after the common good of the overall Triad community.

Perhaps this is why, even with our state going for Republican President Bush in 2004, his Office of Management and Budget quietly and apparently without protest from our local, state and federal politicians, split the Piedmont into five statistical areas instead of one, plunging (on paper) the Triad from one of the Top 40 metro areas down to around the 70th.

This little “change on paper” has caused immeasurable damage to our area because these OMB metro area ratings are one of the main factors companies use to determine new or expanded business locations.

Could it be that in 2004, at the time of the change, Sens. Richard Burr (then a representative) and Liddy Dole and Rep. Howard Coble were asleep at the wheel?

The people of the Triad urge our local, state and especially federal representatives to immediately correct splitting of the Triad and return us to what we really are — one big Triad Top 40 metro area with more than 1.5 million residents, with the resources, culture and good business attitude to attract and retain businesses seeking new areas.

It’s of paramount importance that this become a top political priority. Our residents, institutions and businesses are suffering as a consequence.

The writer lives in Browns Summit.

Over the years there’s been a lot of news about the status of immigration, legal and illegal. Some believe in just letting them come in, get their green card and go to work. I believe they should come according to the law.

I was involved with my friend, Charlie Tsui (Charlie Two Shoes), who came to America from China in May 1983. It took us until July 2002 to get his citizenship. We (a group of Marines), went by the law and got a Durham lawyer to help us.

It cost Charlie over $20,000, to no avail. We got Sen. Sanford to sponsor a bill, which passed the Senate but not the House of Representatives. But the Marines didn’t stop there.

In July 2002, Charlie received his citizenship. In 2004, the commandant of the Marine Corps made Charlie an honorary Marine. He was one of 30 to receive that honor. His entire family came to the United States in 1985 and now lives in Chapel Hill.

There should be one standard for all on immigration. Then, there would be no confusion.

The Marines also thank Jim Schlosser for the many articles he wrote about Charlie in the News & Record.

W. Don Sexton
Greensboro

I can’t take much more of Thomas Friedman. He’s always lecturing us after attending an international conference in Riyadh or Cairo. This week, he is pontificating after an eco-trip to Costa Rica.

I don’t know how much he knows about us folks living here in America. Friedman is a well-educated man with impressive credentials in Middle Eastern affairs. Yet his recent articles in the News & Record espouse his personal views on climate and environmental policy backed up by a few flimsy quotes from so-called experts.

A quick Google search found that he lives in an 11,400-square-foot home in Maryland once valued at $9.3 million. Friedman married into a wealthy family that made their fortune developing malls and shopping centers. He warns the rest of us to mind our carbon footprints.

Can’t you find someone better for me to read while I eat my cornflakes?

Pat J. Urban
Greensboro

An 81-year-old man named Eugene McMurray Jr. received his diploma after dropping out of Dudley High School about 60 years ago.

McMurray dropped out because of family needs. His mother became ill and needed support. He was only a junior when he left. He really loved school. Putting his own children through college required him to have two to three jobs at a time.

His children knew he deserved to have a diploma, so they wrote to Guilford County Schools, explaining McMurray’s reasons for leaving school.

After some time, the diploma came in the mail. McMurray’s children surprised him with the good news. He was proud to be in the graduating class of 1949.

This was good to motivate senior citizens that it’s not too late to get your education back.
McMurray deserves his diploma after working so hard for his loved ones.

Donnell Bruce
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

College is a dream for most high school students, but there is one major question that students preparing to go to college should answer: Am I really prepared to go to college?

Most students have a dream of going to college, but they’re shocked when their senior year of high school approaches and they realize they aren’t prepared. Colleges are looking for well-rounded students, not just those who are academically gifted. With clubs, sports, homework, family, etc., how do students have time to balance all this?

My solution would be to teach incoming high school freshmen how to effectively manage their time. Students will learn how to do more activities outside of school while making good grades for school. This will help students have a better chance at college.

Some may argue that students should learn how to manage their time on their own, but I think it is the responsibility of the high schools to help students because it is ultimately helping them earn a chance for college admission. Therefore, high schools should start helping freshmen manage their time.

Kristopher Rawls
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

As a member of PETA, I am calling on you, the readers, to demand the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee to use its influence to help put a stop to the annual seal slaughter.
Sealers routinely hook live baby seals in the eye, cheek or mouth to avoid damaging their fur.
About 95 percent of seals killed are under three months old, and many may not have even eaten their first solid meal or learned how to swim before they are skinned for their fur.

There is no justification for clubbing and skinning baby seals. In Newfoundland, income from the seal slaughter accounts for approximately 1 percent of the province’s economy, but even if it were more, there will never be an excuse for clubbing baby animals to death as their mothers look on in horror and fear.

The seal slaughter is not a subsistence trade for native peoples; it is an off-season profit venture for fishers off Canada’s East Coast.

I urge the readers of the News & Record to let Canada know that this inhumane treatment is horrendous, totally unacceptable, and must cease immediately.
For more information, readers can visit PETA.org.

What you see will shock you, but it will also open your eyes and hopefully will help you use your voice as well to stop this senseless slaughter.

Evelyn Foxx
McLeansville

The rising costs of congressional campaigns are unsustainable. There is no end in sight to this escalation in costs.

The Fair Elections Now Act (S. 752 and H.R. 1826) will put an end to this terrible waste of time and effort and allow representatives to concentrate on the really important issues that face our people today.

I urge you to support this important law and enact it at once.

Kenneth Bravehawk
Browns Summit

Regarding the shocking resignations and likely damaged reputations of three beloved and respected leaders of Northern Guilford High School: Where are the facts?

If suspicions of misconduct have been proven necessitating the resignations of Joe Yeager (principal), Derrell Force (athletics director) and Louis Lawson (head custodian), I ask Mo Green, the school board and the local news media to provide the facts meriting such dramatic treatment and in the future consider a less heavy-handed approach, such as simply correcting the problem.

Yeager and Force, by implementing a comprehensive sports program in the midst of getting a brand-new school off the ground, have put in place a key component complementing our academic success: sports incentive, which facilitates school spirit and creates an atmosphere inspiring excellence. Lawson likewise helped support this culture as well as manage our facility successfully.

Our hardworking administrators and staff need the ongoing assistance, protection and support of our community and school system, unless proven guilty, and only should be released from duties when such supporting evidence is provided. If rumor and accusations are all these actions are based on, no job in Guilford County is safe!

Terri Hawkins
Summerfield

The writer is a Northern Guilford High School parent.

As a junior at Northern Guilford, I would like to bring attention to the contributions Principal Joe Yeager has made to our school. I believe because of his tireless effort, the student body at NGHS was able to become cohesive and united under one cause: to create a new school where everyone, no matter where from, could feel at home.

Academic excellence has always been Mr. Yeager’s top priority. I hope our new leadership at Northern will be as supportive and compassionate as he. He put everything he had into our school, and I cannot think of Northern without the leadership of Mr. Yeager. And for you Mr. Yeager: We are Northern!

Sarah Apple
Browns Summit

I speak for many former classmates when I say that the Quad at UNCG needs to be preserved and not destroyed. The best times of my life and college experience were largely connected to the Quad (where I lived), from outdoor concerts and events, parties, sunbathing to plain relaxing. And, yes, some of us studied on the Quad. There has to be a better way and another place to build that will not destroy memories that thousands hold dear. Generations have come and gone on the Quad, including my grandmother, who attended in 1927.

I know the world has changed and understand progress like the next person, but there are some things that remain sacred. UNCG’s Quad is one of them.

Lynne Brandon
Greensboro

Google “Tancredo at UNC” and you will see which way our great North Carolina university is leaning! Ex-U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado was invited to speak last Tuesday evening at UNC on the issue of tuition for illegal aliens. Why are we teaching our smart, young people to be so rude and inconsiderate when they do not agree with the message? They were not being forced to listen to his views. They simply did not want anyone else there to hear what he had to say. The Russians tried this for 70 years. It didn’t work!

And what is it about “illegal aliens” that some people do not get? Illegal aliens must not be employed in this country when we have so many of our good, home-grown citizens out of work!

Jim Martin
Jamestown

As Earth Day approaches, we will be provided with various green tips to save the planet — use CFL bulbs, recycle, water restrictors on faucets, etc. One tip you may not hear is about is the food we eat.

A recent study by the United Nations (“Livestock’s Long Shadow: environmental issues and options”) revealed that livestock rearing generates nearly a fifth of the planet’s greenhouse gases, “more than all the cars in the world.” We each consume approximately 110 grams of protein a day, which is twice the federal government recommended allowance. Of that, 75 grams come from animal protein. If we were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent, it would be the carbon dioxide equivalent of switching from a standard sedan to a Toyota Prius.
So save the money on the Prius. This Earth Day, start to gradually reduce the meat portions on your plate, which will lessen your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. And save the world.

Caleb Scott
Greensboro

I would like to see in the News & Record a well-researched article on Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center. This respected organization is working to help inform and legally rid this country of racist hate groups, and these are increasing because of fear, lies, negativism and innuendo. I have contributed to the Southern Poverty Law Center even when I could not give to other organizations. Its latest magazine listed the increasing number of hate groups in the country in 2008, and they are in the South. Just when we think things are better.

Sally Morris Randall
Greensboro

The Eastern Guilford High School family is excited to move into our new 270,000-square-foot school. We have come a long way since the fire on Nov. 1, 2006; it is hard to believe the new school is open. Without support from the school board, parents, staff, students and taxpayers, our school could not have been replaced as quickly as it was. I’m especially thankful for the district’s employees, who worked tirelessly to expedite the building’s construction.

The community has rallied behind Eastern, showing support through countless donations, supplies, kind words and voting for the 2008 bond projects. In total, the school received more than $676,000 in donations from more than 1,000 donors.

Eastern teachers have been instrumental in making this transition successful. Their flexibility and can-do attitude have helped our students receive a quality education regardless of the facilities. I am also thankful to the PTSA and all parents who have shown relentless support and perseverance. Our students have shown extreme maturity, responsibility and character, and I couldn’t be more proud to be their principal.

At Eastern, we are family. Celebrate with us as we move forward in our new home.

Travis L. Reeves
Gibsonville

The writer is Eastern High’s principal.

There is a public school in Guilford County where most classes have about 27 students. None of the teachers has an assistant. The school has no auditorium, no cafeteria, and there is no bus service. In addition to the EOGs and EOCs, this school gives nationally normed tests to its students three times a year. And if this school doesn’t perform, the state has the power to close it down.

Are parents protesting? Are students failing? On the contrary, this school is consistently rated a School of Excellence by the state of North Carolina. There are currently more students on the waiting list (826) than students attending this school (704). In the lottery for next year, 307 students were vying for only 66 available kindergarten spots. What’s more, taxpayers spend less per pupil to educate these students than they do to educate other students in Guilford County.

This school is Greensboro Academy, a public charter school. Maybe we shouldn’t panic when people suggest cutting school budgets. By cutting in the right places and focusing on the basics of education, our schools will improve. It is possible to be successful with fewer resources.

Mary Catherine Sauer
Summerfield

I wish to take exception to the notion that the U.S. Postal Service should get a thumbs down for not staying open late on April 15, as expressed in that day’s editorial. All taxpayers have ample opportunity to be aware of the need to file their income taxes by April 15, since we’ve been doing that every year for a very long time.

The notion that the post office should incur extra expenses catering to people not responsible enough to pay their taxes on time strikes me as just one more piece of the whole notion of citizens not being able (or willing) to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. I see no need to incur extra expenses, which just show up eventually in the price of postage we all have to pay, to provide additional service for people who have known for years when their taxes were due.

Steele Smith
Jamestown

Having worked for Wrangler Inc. for 30 years, I cannot let George Will’s column of April 16 pass without comment. Yes, denim is the ubiquitous fabric found on many bodies and in many places we would never have thought possible. Its manufacture and use in garments have paid many a wage in the South. But is it slovenly? For him to quote Daniel Akst on “the modern trend toward undifferentiated dressing” is farcical.

I remember following a group of executives toward town and lunch. Each wore a dark gray suit with white shirt and black shoes that looked as if they weighed a ton each. They looked stuffy but they weren’t.

Today’s ubiquitous denim is no more a uniform than those dark gray suits.

Barbara P. Walker
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Marilyn Trivett

There’s been a lot of talk in the newspaper lately about tea. Tea bags being sent to the N.C. Department of Revenue and Tax Day tea parties getting attention.

My concerns are a lot simpler. I just want a cup of tea. Sounds pretty basic, but just for fun, ask for hot tea the next time you’re at your favorite restaurant. Coffee drinkers don’t have a clue as to what we tea drinkers must endure.

I first noticed it one cold, rainy night when we were set to enjoy tacos and burritos. “We don’t have hot tea,” I was told.

So, I asked, “Will you take iced tea and 'nuke’ it for me?” It came back in a big plastic tumbler. I had to ask for a cup.

At a well-regarded local cafeteria, the beverage person couldn’t understand and I had to go through pointing and dramatic hand gestures just to get a tea bag into the cup first, before the hot water was poured on. (There is a proper way to brew tea.)

A refill required a second tea bag. Soon, I discovered I was being charged for a second beverage because I asked for another tea bag. Unbelievable, an outright discrimination. Aren’t cafeterias known for their refills?

There are local restaurants that know how to do this tea thing in a magnificent and proper manner. You will get a tea pot and a wonderful assortment of teas with all the refills you want.

Problem is, there is such inconsistency you can never be sure that your request for hot tea won’t end in disappointment. Recently, I told a wonderful and accommodating young waiter in a
South Elm Street establishment to inform his manager that it was a shame they could brew beer but couldn’t brew a cup of tea.

I’ve had my say. Thank you for your patience. I know I represent a minority, but like the short, stout little teapot, it felt good to let off some steam.

Now, my solution: Rather than annoy these fine people by asking for something they can’t give and have no interest in providing, I will keep my tempest in my own personal little teapot. When they ask, “What can I get you to drink?” I will smile sweetly, pull out my tea bags, my teapot and say, “Boiling water, please.”

The writer lives in Greensboro.

All children should have the right to pursue a life and education equitable with that of their peers. A child born with a hearing loss should have the right to fair and appropriate coverage by insurance providers, much like a child requiring a prosthetic limb.

In North Carolina, there is no statute requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of hearing aids for children. Any opportunity to keep costs of services down will be exploited.

Most insurance companies in North Carolina don’t provide coverage for children’s hearing aids that are critical to language development of children with hearing loss whose parents have chosen listening and spoken language for them. Hearing aids are not a perk, but necessary for them to develop.

Currently, House Bill 589 and Senate Bill 375 would amend the statute to require health benefit plans and the state health plan to cover hearing aids and replacements for children with a hearing loss, birth through age 21, every 36 months. (See http://actionalert.hearfromthestart.info for more information about these bills.)

Thirteen states have passed similar measures. Do you think our representatives will vote for or against these children’s rights?

Arthur Tastet
Greensboro

Texting is the latest craze in today’s society, especially among high school teens. They spend an inordinate amount of time texting.

While cell phones provide faster communication, their use by some teens, during school hours is having a detrimental effect on learning.

While in class, students are constantly texting, which results in their attention being divided between the work at hand and another conversation. When students are not giving their full attention, it is difficult to grasp concepts.

It amazes me how these same students, who spend class time texting, expect to master the content being taught and reach their full potential. Divided attention breeds half-results.

In addition to texting being a distraction, it has also become an aid to cheating. Some students find it difficult to resist the temptation because cell phones make it so easy.

They fail to realize that they’re only slighting themselves. Cheating can become a crutch and make students depend on another person’s ability, which prevents them from learning the concepts themselves.

Students just need to exercise discipline and focus attention on their education. Earth-shattering, I know.

Brittani Level
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

Recently four police officers were killed in Oakland, Calif. The suspect was a young black male with a very significant criminal background.

Several days after the murders a group of approximately 70 people marched in the area of the shooting. Among those in attendance that day were the young, the impressionable, the children.

The reason for the gathering may have come from a strong feeling of injustice due to alleged harassment from the police and a long-standing distrust and hatred of them.

The exact reason for the march is unknown, but this is for sure: the children saw the whole thing. Many people in our country also were witnesses.

This type of thing is very harmful to those fledgling minds. My friends, hatred is a learned thing — you are not born with it.

Samuel T. McCartt Jr.
Reidsville

It is difficult to comprehend in today’s economic climate, how the city of Greensboro does not allow any of their projects to be available online.

The U.S. government, the state of North Carolina and Guilford County all allow plan access on line through various outlets, but not the city.

The most obvious problem with this policy is limiting the number of bidders (primarily subcontractors) who will price the projects. The net result from this is higher prices on the projects, costing the taxpayers more money.

I think it is time for the city to review this ridiculous policy and bring it in line with other government entities.

Alex Crist
Greensboro

Our new president has been busy. He has spent, or is spending, approximately $45,000 for every American household to achieve his grandiose, big-government spending goals. He has developed a plan to exert direct control over large segments of the U.S. economy including the financial sector, the auto industry (he personally fired the CEO of General Motors, a private U.S. company), and the banking industry.

He has proposed legislation that would allow him to set the pay for every employee in each of these key market segments. He has proposed spending another $630 billion as a “down payment” (his words) to begin to take over the health care industry.

He has proposed sweeping new “cap and trade” legislation that will amount to a tax on every American who heats or cools a home or drives a car. In short, the worst fears of those of us who opposed his election have been realized. Government without limits seems to be his goal.
Constitution? What Constitution? If it’s to be ignored it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

I see the change, it’s the hope I’m missing.

Tim Tessier
Greensboro

Counterpoint:

By Elizabeth Haile

While we were eating our breakfast this morning, Mary was diagnosed with Type II diabetes.

Last night when we were watching television, John was diagnosed with leukemia.

While we were in church on Sunday, Beth was in a car accident and sustained life-threatening injuries that required multiple blood transfusions.

What do all of these patients have in common? Clinical laboratory professionals played a role in the diagnosis and treatment of their illnesses. One professional performed the glucose test that identified Mary’s diabetes. Another reviewed John’s blood smear and alerted the pathologist to the presence of abnormal white cells. Beth recovered from her injuries, thanks in no small part to the clinical laboratory scientist who performed cross-match tests on Beth’s blood to find compatible donor units.

Check out www.labtestsonline.org to read more about these and other important clinical laboratory tests.

Every day, dedicated clinical laboratory professionals work with other members of the health care team to diagnose and treat disease and help keep the citizens of Guilford County healthy.

But you probably won’t see them doing it.

Unknown to most of the public, laboratory personnel in laboratories like those with the Moses Cone Health System, Spectrum Laboratories, High Point Regional Hospital and the N.C. State Laboratory for Public Health in Raleigh work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to provide the highest quality laboratory test results to patients and their physicians.

There is a shortage of clinical laboratory professionals that is predicted to worsen soon as many of them retire. If you like science and laboratory work and are interested in a career in health care, consider clinical laboratory science.

April 19-25 is National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Laboratory Professionals Get Results.”

I would like to congratulate my colleagues on a job well done!

The writer is a clinical laboratory scientist who lives in Greensboro.

Skipping is supposed to be a serious problem in schools, so why is it that administrators and hall monitors have conversations with students who skip? Is the logic that the students in class are wrong and you are supposed to be rewarded for skipping?

The Guilford County school board is wondering why students don’t have higher test scores. Have they checked the hallways of some of these failing schools?

During certain blocks there is an influx of students in the hallways, causing commotion and fighting. This could be prevented if they were actually in class.

Having the adults not enforce the very rules they implemented will only increase the problem of skipping. Some teachers may like the idea of skipping because the very students who are skipping are the ones who disturb the classes. But if you put only those students who disrupt classes in the halls, you have given them the opportunity to disrupt the whole school. Schools should stop rewarding students who skip and punish them.

Jordan Pippen
Greensboro

The writer is a junior at Dudley High School.

Regarding recent letters about the value of Governor’s School in North Carolina:

The Governor’s School is a waste of taxpayer money and is actually disparaging to students who truly think for themselves.

First, my son (who now has a master’s of divinity from Trinity in Chicago) went to Governor’s School and as a Christian had his faith challenged every day during their so-called discussion groups. He is a smart kid and held his own. As hard as they tried, they could not shake his beliefs.

He even went so far as to form a Bible-study group with students who were like-minded — much to the chagrin of the staff. So if you have a child who has been raised in a Christian environment, avoid Governor’s School brainwash.

Three years later, my daughter went because she had been convinced it would be great for her musical talents. We were so proud of her.

Little did we know how bad it would be. She was there about 10 days when she called and begged us to come and get her — she hated it. We went to the school and foolishly convinced her to stay.

When she did come home she said that she was miserable — that the music program was subpar to the Grimsley Madrigals.

She was bored. And she was depressed for weeks afterward. If I could possibly take back that experience from her, I certainly would.

Bob Carter
Greensboro

I applaud Charles Davenport’s column in Sunday’s News and Record (April 19). At last, a thoughtful and insightful analysis of the many tea parties held on April 15 all across this nation.

It is reassuring to know that someone in the news media, besides Fox News, has the integrity and the willingness to honestly express the many reasons why thousands of U.S. citizens raised their voices that day. Shame on CNN and MSNBC and all others who chose to ridicule and distort the message via biased reports and sophomoric and thinly veiled sexual innuendo.

Barbara Johnson
Greensboro

I am fortunate that my children are grown and no longer in the Guilford County Schools, but I am concerned for the parents and children who face the challenges of educating their children.

With the pending layoffs of maybe hundreds of teachers, assistants, media specialists, etc., how can adding regional superintendents save the school system money?

What I see is another layer of administration being added between the parent and the superintendent that might help with better communication, but it is highly questionable to me that we should budget these tax dollars at the expense of our front-line educators.

John Horm
Greensboro

Regarding Norman Simper Jr.’s letter (April 13): I agree with the fact that speed is not the leading cause of crashes. It is inattention to driving.

That was before cell phones entered the picture, and it continues as the chief cause of accidents. Undoubtedly, a major cause of that inattention is use of cell phones and texting instruments.

Gov. Perdue would do a huge service to everyone in this state if she’d get a bill passed banning the use of such items while behind the wheel. Arrest and a healthy fine would be the penalties. Think of all the lives that might be saved.

Both hands should be on that steering wheel, my friends. Nothing is so important as to endanger yourself and others by taking your mind off what you are doing behind that wheel.

D. Diane Brownlie
Greensboro

On April 6, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates proposed a bold defense budget that deeply cuts spending. While I don’t believe this goes far enough, it is a good start against the well-entrenched interests that represent the military-industrial complex in this nation.

I realize that the role of funding the military belongs to Congress, but disregarding the wishes of its secretary would make it quite clear who Congress is really working for. In times of crisis like these, there are much better alternatives for that money, especially that which is given away in no-bid contracts.

Mark Chirico
Greensboro

Wall Street rivals Las Vegas as a gambling mecca. When banking regulations were eased, Wall Street lost its way.

Its original purpose was discarded. Investing gave way to speculative, irresponsible trading.

Excessive speculation distorts stock prices. Exhibit A: Massive short-selling in oil futures resulted in $4-a-gallon gas at the pump. Loosely regulated markets led to questionable practices. Greed becomes the norm and you spawn a Bernie Madoff.

When thinking retirement, think safety first. Your 401(k) should consist primarily of money market accounts. Common stocks are too unpredictable. You want to sleep at night knowing your retirement funds will be there for you. Wall Street is not the panacea for you, me or Joe the Plumber.

The Wall Street mantra, “Invest for the long term,” works unless you’re at the end of your “long term” and the market crashes.

“Retirement fund” should spell security, safety and peace of mind for your golden years. Do not gamble with your future.

George Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security funds into the stock market was — oops — a bad idea. Bush out, Obama in.

Max Roseman
High Point

Counterpoint:

By Colleen Flanagan

I would like to respond to Mark Binker’s article in Sunday’s News & Record, “Stimulus cash hunt baffles.”

As Mr. Binker writes, the stimulus bill “did not come with a handy checklist or a user’s manual,” which is why, in late March, Sen. Kay Hagan’s office released a comprehensive guidebook, available for download on the Web site at hagan.senate.gov.

This comprehensive guidebook makes it easier for residents of North Carolina to take advantage of the resources allocated by the stimulus to help get our economy moving in the right direction and put North Carolinians back to work.

Clearly indexed, the resource guide indicates how much money is available for various projects and whom North Carolinians should contact for more information about how to access these funds.

During the April recess, Sen. Hagan traveled across North Carolina, visiting 14 counties from New Hanover in the east to Henderson in the west. Over the course of two weeks, she visited four shovel-ready projects receiving funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, better known as the stimulus. In North Carolina, these four projects alone will create or sustain more than 550 jobs, and, all told, the stimulus will create more than 105,000 jobs in the state.

I encourage anyone with further questions to call Sen. Hagan’s office (Washington, (202) 224-6342; Greensboro, 333-5311; Raleigh, (919) 856-4630), where we are glad to help North Carolinians figure out how to obtain access to these funds so we can get our economy moving again.

The writer is communications director for U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C.

As a former member of the U.S. Navy and a graduating Elon Law student, I find the Obama administration’s legal positions on military action and the need for critical intelligence to be at odds with each other.

Not long ago, President Obama approved Predator drone strikes against suspected terrorists and Taliban leaders in the lawless areas of Pakistan. These individuals were unlikely to be alone, and may have in fact been in their homes with family. Innocent people were likely harmed or killed by these strikes.

Then, my fellow sailors were authorized to use deadly force to protect the U.S. citizen being held by three Somali pirates. Navy SEAL snipers responded to the threat with deadly accuracy to save the life of one man.

Here’s where it gets confusing: In the above-mentioned situations, the president correctly believes it is morally acceptable to use deadly force if the need arises.

However, it is not acceptable to use the same interrogation techniques on terrorists that U.S. Special Warfare members go through in SERE (Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract) training? Or to obtain information from captured terrorists that could prevent the murder of possibly thousands of innocent Americans?

It’s OK to kill terrorists and pirates but not to stick a terrorist in a box with caterpillars? Anyone else confused?

Jacob T. Arthur
Greensboro

Your front-page article about the April 15 tea parties was partly accurate. They were protesting the spending as well as how it’s being spent, and the trillions of dollars of debt our children will be paying for.

I personally had many other grievances against the Obama administration. There are too many to list here, but his administration has not done one single thing I agree with or want. Obama’s change has been for the worse, not better. The fact that he criticizes the U.S. and does not defend us to other world dictators and human rights violators, etc., shows he has no respect for the American people.

He does not even like the country he heads. What’s up with that?

Cheri Pikett
Summerfield

In response to the letter on April 19, “Students must manage their time”: Time management is a skill, as important as learning to drive, learning to read and learning to balance your checkbook.

High school is a perfectly appropriate place to learn these skills. If they were taught effectively, it might help high school students improve in their core subjects.

GTCC offers a fantastic course that teaches study skills, time management, motivation and more: ACA 118.

This course is based on the “On Course” philosophy developed by Skip Downing.

I would encourage any high school student who is able to take a course at GTCC to take ACA 118. Not only will it help you in high school, it will prepare you for college.

Amy Crittenden
Jamestown

Regarding the Life article concerning ethnic Nepali immigrants from Bhutan (“Family ties: A Bhutanese family has traveled from Bhutan, to Nepal, to Greensboro ... always together, ” April 12):

A fuller picture is needed to better understand the historical context. Nepal’s religion and language are related to those of India, while Bhutan’s reflects that of Tibet and the former Sikkim. Vajrayana Buddhism is the faith of East Asia practiced in Bhutan and Tibet.

Nepal has a large, impoverished population whose emigration swamped that of neighboring Sikkim: By 1967, Sikkim’s ethnicity was 20 percent similar to Bhutan’s, and 70 percent Nepalese. In 1973, Nepali migrants rioted against Sikkim’s monarch, leading to intervention by Indian military forces and its absorption in late 1974 into India.

With Tibet conquered by China and Nepal roiled by Maoists and Assamese agitating with India, Bhutan seeks to preserve its national identity of distinctive clothing, architecture, language, religious structures and cultural arts through rules known as “One Nation, One People.”

Fearing the fate of Sikkim, Bhutan expelled around one-sixth of its residents in 1990, based on their inability to document residency prior to 1958. These and their descendants live in Nepal, India or refugee camps.

Sixty thousand refugees will be resettled within the United States; six other nations offered to resettle another 40,000.

Susan Walcott, Ph.D.
L. Joe Morgan, Ph.D.
Greensboro

The writers are faculty members in the Department of Geography at UNCG who have both conducted research in Bhutan.

The “To tweet or not to tweet” opinion piece (by Maureen Dowd, April 23) focuses on the absurdity of Twitter. Whether I should “tweet” or not has never been the question for me. Twitter should be twitted away and never seen again.

This social networking site serves no purpose for society. What are the merits of having a network that only lets someone have 140 characters in whatever they are trying to say?
As a college student, I use MySpace to be an individual by setting my own background and Web site. I could never do this on Twitter, where everyone’s page looks the same.

Twitter offers no creativity for its users, and twitterers certainly cannot show their interests beyond a 140-word limit. So what is the obsession with twitting?

Maybe it is the bored celebrities who twitter away their millions instead of using their money for the greater good that has people in a Twitter frenzy.

It would be different if people used their posts to write something interesting, but more often than not, people write about useless crap like going to the bathroom.
I just hope that twittering doesn’t turn my generation into a bunch of 140-word-limit twits.

Elizabeth Welborn
Archdale
The writer is a junior at High Point University.

I agree with Maureen Dowd’s sentiments towards the new Twitter craze in her column (April 23). I am a college student and refuse to create a Twitter account.

It worries me how people from my generation view communication. We are already so disconnected from reality and real relationships. Instead of verbal interaction, we instant message on the Internet or send a quick text message. Conversations that should happen face-to-face only occur through typed abbreviated words and generic emoticons.

The fact that Twitter only allows for 140 words limits people and their ideas and emotions. Technology and online blogs or tweets stifle people’s ability to express their thoughts. Incorrect grammar becomes more prevalent in everyday speech. People are “lol-ing” and “idk-ing” out loud more and more.

My generation will have to eventually learn how to communicate properly. I wonder how and when.

Scarlett Hester
High Point
The writer is a junior at High Point University

Where is everybody? Where is the outrage? Can’t anyone see that Barack Obama is systematically destroying our country economically and removing safeguards that kept us from a terrorist attack since 9/11?

His latest move to publish top secret CIA documents plays into the hands of our enemies. This is a purely political move to appease his far-left base. Now he is threatening to prosecute the very people whose tactics have kept us safe from another terrorist attack.
Obama is a slick talker more slanted to pleasing European and South American anti-American countries than protecting our own.

His egotism knows no bounds. He is not the messiah that those who voted for him believed him to be. He is an inexperienced myth in far over his head as a president.

He is a disgrace and a danger. Why no outrage from the citizens whose well-being is jeopardized by Obama’s reckless actions?

If they continue to ignore warning signs, God only knows how many lives will be lost when the next attack comes because of a weak and spineless president.

Dave Derence
Greensboro

We understand Greensboro, like Charlotte already, will enact an ordinance this summer to ticket homeowners and renters who dare park on their grass instead of the driveway.

Our son’s family moved to the Charlotte area (Matthews) in January from Florida because of a job change. They haven’t yet sold the house they own in Florida, so they rent. The house has a single-lane paved driveway and single garage. Both got tickets within two weeks of moving there. An overzealous older neighbor reported them. All they did was move one of two vehicles partly on the grass so the other could get out.

If, like neighbors, they park on the street, their vehicle risks being hit and rising insurance. They worry about children, including their youngest, being hit coming from behind a parked vehicle. I value beauty but hope Greensboro doesn’t pass this dumb ordinance.

Carol Pulliam
Oak Ridge

The following is a counterpoint.

By Danny Glenn

Where was Charles Davenport’s outrage when Bush and Cheney were helping Exxon, Halliburton and a host of war profiteers raid the U.S. Treasury?

Where was his outrage when Bush took a huge budget surplus and turned it into record deficits? Where is the outrage that the booming economy of 2000 was turned into a 2008 financial meltdown due to Republican policies?

He accuses the Obama administration of a tax-and-spend mind set, but borrow-and-spend was the Bush way. The Bush administration introduced socialism for the rich and the well-connected. Now Republicans call helping the victims of their greed socialism.

Republicans continue to spread the lie that FDR’s programs, giving people jobs building roads and infrastructure, didn’t work. Born in 1938, I grew up hearing working people say that Franklin Roosevelt’s programs saved the country and they were grateful. Why do you think he was elected four times?

Davenport characterizes the wealthy as industrious and ambitious, but ignores the fact that about 60 percent of the wealth of the richest was inherited. Industrious Cindy McCain inherited a business worth more than $100 million. Why shouldn’t she pay higher taxes? She could sell one of her seven homes.

Soon enough he begins to denigrate and dehumanize those with whom he disagrees. Why do Republicans do that so much? He casts those of us who are not wealthy as “slothful and indolent.”

Well, Chuck, we the slothful and indolent do your work, fight and die in your wars and suffer when the economy goes bad. We make the sacrifices; we are the sacrificed.

We, middle-class working folks, are not asking the fortunate to go to some God-forsaken corner of the planet to shed blood for the military-industrial complex. We just need a little help getting the country back on its feet. Paying higher taxes isn’t punishment, it’s patriotism. Don’t you love your country?

The writer lives in Greensboro.

The following is a counterpoint.

By John Mooney

To answer, “Where’s the outrage?” (Ideas, April 19) by Republican Charles Davenport, who supports lowering income taxes on the wealthy:

1. The top tax rate is 35 percent. Anyone think that a CEO making $10 million a year is harmed by only keeping $6.5 million (plus more from tax credits and loopholes)?

2. One of the reasons George Bush doubled the federal debt from $5 trillion to $10 trillion was not collecting enough taxes to pay the bills.

3. The middle class and the poor are outraged by this proposal, as they are losing 600,000 jobs a month and millions are losing their homes. Davenport criticizes the government for stimulus spending, which is essential to reverse the job losses.

4. Republicans lower the top tax rates, the corporate tax rates and the “death tax” to get campaign contributions from the wealthy and get re-elected. This and the Republican philosophy of not regulating what banks, insurance companies, etc., can invest in has given us the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

5. Davenport quotes from people in the 18th and 19th centuries. We have a 21st century problem.

6. Democrats have been called “tax and spend.” Republicans are “borrow and spend,” and our children and grandchildren will be paying for the $10 trillion debt, 75 percent of which is due to Reagan, the two Bushes and the stimulus spending necessitated by this Republican-caused crisis.

7. The “tea parties” by Republicans are an attempt to distract us from the need to stimulate the economy to reverse the 600,000 per month job losses and to collect enough taxes to pay the bills.

8. Davenport’s “the industrious and ambitious provide for the slothful and indolent” sounds like Scrooge to me, and if I were out of a job and struggling to feed my family or keep our home, I would indeed be outraged at being called lazy!

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I try to be active in the political process and give input to my representatives at the local, state and national levels. It is very frustrating when they are not responsive in any way. I have e-mailed Sen. Hagan a number of times and, other than one auto response saying I would get a response in the future (which never came), I have never gotten a reply.

I’ve e-mailed the mayor, City Council and my councilman via the city’s Web site and have never gotten a response from any of them.

I will say that on the state level the response is good, and the same with Congressman Coble and Sen. Burr.

Is it any surprise that the level of confidence in politicians is at an all-time low?

Tom Gavin
Greensboro

For months we have been aware of the economic challenges in our community. There is no simple solution, but there is a free resource available to everyone in Guilford County to address these challenges — the Greensboro Public Library. Often overlooked as only a place for checking out books, the library can provide you with ways to save money, find a job and assist businesses in staying competitive.

If you are looking for a job or contemplating a career change, the library offers career advice, training and workshops, job-search resources and connections with outside agencies that offer placement assistance. You can schedule a one-on-one counseling session with the library’s career specialist.

If you are a small business owner affected by the recession, you may want to contact your business librarian or review databases and resources at Central Library that can help you find new customers and explore efficient ways to run your business.

The Greensboro Public Library is the cornerstone of this community, serving everyone regardless of age, income or education. Visit the Central Library or your nearest neighborhood branch and discover a world of possibilities.

Steve Allen
Willie Taylor
Greensboro

Steve Allen is chairman, Greensboro Public Library Board of Trustees. Willie Taylor chairs the Greensboro Public Library Advocacy Committee

I hope everyone in Greensboro knows how lucky we are to have such a high-quality and fan-friendly baseball team in the Grasshoppers. I have just attended two Braves games with my family and, even though I grew up in Atlanta as a lifelong Braves fan, I would rather have gone to two Grasshoppers games.

The Braves players ignored fans, even children, during designated autograph times and acted like they were above it all. The Grasshoppers have always taken the time to talk to fans, especially children, sign a ball and even take a picture or two. Watching the Braves just seemed boring compared to the Grasshoppers.

Donald Moore and the Greensboro Grasshoppers provide a very entertaining evening at a very reasonable price.

I just hope the players remember the fans as they go through the system because the players are nothing without the fans, and the players can really make a good experience an unforgettable one.

Although it will be tough to better the Mike Stanton and Matt Dominguez show, I am sure that Mr. Moore, Kyle Skipworth and the crew will give us another outstanding year.

Thank you, Grasshoppers!

Brian Sumner
Greensboro

President Obama gave $25,000 to the United Negro College Fund? Will my white child qualify to benefit from the services of the UNCF, or will he be denied due to the color of his skin?
Surely this so-called “President of the People” didn’t give a large sum of money to an organization that only offers its services to one race of people, not our “President of the People”! Shouldn’t our president only give to organizations that open their doors to everyone?
Can you imagine what the outrage would have been if George W. Bush had donated to The United Caucasian College Fund, or if any white candidate had done so, for that matter?

Adam Wilson
Browns Summit

I noted that Gov. Beverly Perdue chose not to attend the ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, citing travel costs.

While that’s commendable, I found it strange that the governor’s spokesperson said the ceremony was “too far out of the way.”

Does this mean that Gov. Perdue only intends to govern in places that are easy to get to?

The governor of Tennessee apparently didn’t find it “too far out of the way,” or perhaps he has a deeper appreciation of what a wonderful asset the park is.

Since Nag’s Head is way out there on the Outer Banks, when is that going to be considered too far out of the way?

Dave Stump
Greensboro

My family and I live just off of Guilford College Road and next to the property that is up for rezoning on May 21 for industrial use and self-storage warehouses. Ours is a quiet residential neighborhood, and there is no industrial zoning anywhere near us. If the county commissioners allow this rezoning, we and our neighbors fear that other developers will then want to change the complexion of our area, and a very nice neighborhood will be ruined.

We hope others in the community will help us convince the commissioners that this is a very bad idea for a very good neighborhood.

Pablo B. Carrion
Jamestown

I was disappointed to see no mention of diet choices in your coverage of Earth Day.

Did you know that the average American contributes more to global warming through his or her food habits than though transportation? The average bite of food in America today travels more than 1,500 miles from factory-farm to fork. From petroleum-based fertilizers to truck fuel, that process uses about 500 gallons of oil per person per year. That’s like filling up an additional 10-gallon gas tank every week! Most of this oil is used to produce animal products, which require extra refrigeration, packaging and trips between farm, feed lot and slaughterhouse. In addition, because livestock need to be fed, the production of one pound of meat, eggs or dairy requires 10 times as much farmland as an equivalent amount of plant-based foods. Just to grow livestock feed!

Cutting down on meat and animal products is one of the most environmentally friendly lifestyle changes you can make. And because this impact is not immediately obvious, it is all the more important to publicize it so that well-intentioned people can make the most informed and effective lifestyle changes possible.

Sadie Kneidel
Greensboro

The writer is author of “Going Green: A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet.”

It is clear that the United States needs to find alternative energy sources. President Obama’s recent visit to an Iowa wind-energy company shows that he understands this pressing need and is trying to address it.

The United States is the largest consumer of energy and ranks seventh in energy consumption per capita. An estimated 40 percent of our energy comes from petroleum. The need for petroleum has dominated our lives, whether it is through gas prices or driving us into a war.

Only 6.8 percent of our energy comes from renewable sources, and this is mainly through hydroelectric dams. In contrast, 19 percent of Denmark’s electrical energy comes from wind turbines. If the U.S. could slightly increase our use of wind energy and other renewable resources, it would take a significant burden off our reliance on fossil fuels. I completely agree with Obama when he says, “The nation that leads the world in creating new energy sources will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy.”

We want to be the country that leads the global economy. However, for this to occur, our leaders must see the need for an alternative energy source and make the U.S. a leader in using renewable sources.

Akira Fitzgerald
Winston-Salem

We could stop reckless spending if we could get Congress to pass a law that stipulates the following:

It will be illegal for any company receiving bailout money, its officers or its unions to make political contributions to any elected official or political party until such money is repaid to the treasury.

It will be illegal for any elected official or political party to receive contributions from companies receiving bailout money, their officers or their unions until such money is repaid to the treasury.

Further, it will be illegal for any elected official or political party to receive contributions from any organization or political activist group such as ACORN, the American Civil Liberties Union, or any group or individual who has received more than $50,000 in government funds in the past 12 months.

If taxpayer dollars are being given to any organization or individual for whatever purpose, they should not be allowed to be recycled back to the politicians who are providing them, but must be spent for the stated purpose for which they were given.

This could provide true campaign finance reform and drastically reduce vote-buying.
Being for smaller government puts me on a terrorist watch list, according to Homeland Security. So be it. I prefer liberty to slavery.

Ed Preston
Greensboro

Liz Seymour was quoted in an April 22 front-page story about “how difficult it is to be homeless.” Since the coverage approximated that of the April 15 tea party, I figured that 1,500 to 2,000 homeless had shown up. Surprisingly, fewer than two-dozen people, including “advocates,” had participated.

Twenty malcontents who refuse to take on the basic responsibility of providing for themselves get the same coverage as 2,000 responsible taxpayers?

And the tea party people just wanted government to leave them alone.

The homeless advocates insist that, after I work a 50-hour week, government should take some of my money and give it to people who haven’t done one thing to deserve it. Providing tax money for homeless services is enabling behavior that helps people avoid responsibility for poor choices. If charities want to run homeless shelters, fine, but taxpayers should not be forced to pay one dime to support them.

Homelessness should be difficult. Maybe that will motivate some of these folks to put down the bottle and get off their butts.

Jeff Pickett
Franklinville

I was disappointed to both read and see how much space was devoted to Dr. Brad Rodu’s article (April 19) recommending smokeless tobacco as an alternative to smoking tobacco products. But I was pleased to read the article by Ted Eaves from N.C. A&T (April 26), whose rebuttal lends more credence to the danger of tobacco products altogether.

The oral cancer five-year survival rate for smokeless products, as Eaves stated, is 54 percent; what he did not mention was that many who do survive have been subjected to disfiguring surgery. I wish Eaves had also stated to those who do use smokeless products that if you have a hazy gray or white film in the area where you keep the tobacco in your mouth, and it will not wipe away using a face cloth or gauze sponge, please see your dentist or an oral surgeon as soon as possible.

Such a lesion is a precursor to oral cancer and needs to be biopsied. Cessation from using these products is obviously a must.

Dr. Daniel Cregar Jr., D.D.S.
High Point

As a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, I was disappointed by Rosemary Roberts’ column concerning the recent controversy over the visit of former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.

Yes, Mr. Tancredo was the guest of a group heralded as “xenophobic” by much of the campus. Yes, he was prevented from speaking as he was shouted down by radical protesters. But no, the university’s reputation ought not to be considered “tarnished” as neither the members of Youth for Western Civilization nor the protesters are representative of the campus and its ideals. The majority of students have been both embarrassed and outraged by the demonstration, and are appalled by the reckless disregard for freedom of speech, arguably this nation’s most revered tenet.

Do not attribute the actions of only a few students to the lot of us, and do not assail the reputation of The University of the People for it, either.

Anne Marie Tosco
Greensboro

In reading Elon law student Jacob Arthur’s letter (April 24), I was surprised to read that Mr. Arthur could not differentiate between actions taken in a military arena and actions taken away from the battlefield that are proscribed by U.S. and international law.

Torture is a war crime, and perpetrators of torture have been prosecuted by U.S. and international courts. Actions taken by Americans and approved by lawyers under Alberto Gonzalez’s Justice Department, including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, physical beatings, etc., have resulted in war-crime prosecutions and convictions in the past when they were done by Japanese, Korean and other interrogators.

If Mr. Arthur can’t see the difference between what the Navy SEALS did in the piracy situation and waterboarding a person 183 times in one month, I would suggest the law is not a good profession for him. The bar exam will prove to be a major challenge for him if he can’t determine nuances. But in the case of torture versus battlefield actions, the resolution of the issue is well beyond nuance or shades of gray.

L.F. Rappaport
Greensboro

I’m sure that George Will’s column of April 23 evoked sympathy for the children of D.C. Will described the results of Obama’s cancelling the voucher system which allowed some of them to attend private schools, such as the one the younger Obamas attend. That’s opposed to the absolutely horrendous D.C. public school system, which unfortunately is under the influence of the teachers’ union, one of Obama’s main campaign backers.

Obama would not dare send his children into the maw of public schools, as I’m sure he loves them and wants the best for them. Yet he denies other parents that privilege, dooming their children to an inferior education, not to mention physical danger.

One almost feels sorry for those parents, but the knowledge that the vast majority voted for Obama makes that rather difficult. Wonder if that was the change that they hoped for. Probably not. Oh, well.

Robert Hudson
Pelham

Neighbors, are you aware of the impact of rezoning 4.2 acres next to Lowes Food on Guilford College Road from residential to light industrial? Do you think building 500 self-storage units is appropriate among residential neighborhoods surrounding the site?

Rezoning this to light industrial will set a precedent and it won’t be long before more objectionable businesses will follow, possibly near neighborhoods previously thought immune to such zoning.

It must be stopped now. In a domino effect, more of our area could be condemned to light industrial use. Soon, your own neighborhoods will cease to be places in which you would want to retire or raise your children.

Guilford College Road is one of the beautiful gateways to Jamestown and High Point. What do you want family and friends to see when they visit?

Do you want home and land values to suffer? Will future buyers perceive declining neighborhoods?

Act now while you can to voice your opposition before it’s too late. Please call and e-mail commissioners, sign petitions and definitely come to the rezoning meeting. May 21, Old Guilford County Courthouse, Greensboro, 5:30 p.m.

Judith Griffin
Jamestown

“School board members fired him after a private meeting and would not discuss the vote.”

They fired the Northern High School “janitor.” The school board fired him for enrolling his kid (a star basketball player) and taking this outstanding $23,000-a-year job. Of course, this was after hours of intense interrogation (waterboarding?) by senior educators. Guess they locked him out of his closet.

This school system is becoming a Marx Brothers movie. Honk, honk.

David Colin
Greensboro

We’ve, unbelievably, elected an educated, but obviously ignorant man, blessed with intelligence, but lacking wisdom, a man who has become either a compliant, or unwitting stooge of the far left. Our enemies must be thrilled.

He wants to do something, after saying he wouldn’t, that has never been done before, criminalizing policy differences. He wants to put those, who for seven years prevented a repeat of 9/11 — does anyone remember 9/11? To do this he must use deceit. With the truth in his possession, he releases only the information that supports his lies.

Lincoln wasn’t indicted for suspending habeus corpus, or imprisoning a congressional war opponent. FDR wasn’t indicted for illegally interring Japanese Americans, nor Truman for nuking Japan. We have a party owned by the far left that hates, and wants to destroy America. Move On claims “ownership” of that party, saying they’ve paid for it. They demand retribution — for being protected.

In the past, despite philosophical differences, both parties put the country first. We currently have one party openly rooting for our defeat, and denying any terror threat. This administration believes that our biggest threat now comes from “extremist” troops returning from their “Overseas Contingency Operation,” or state’s rights advocates.

Tony Moschetti
High Point

I agree with the points made by Bob Carter in his recent letter about North Carolina’s Governor’s School.

When a member of my extended family attended the program, he, too, was bombarded with formidable challenges to his faith and core values.

Isolated on campus for weeks, the students were also exposed to disturbing and graphic films (shown without parental consent) in addition to being required to participate in questionable “discussion groups.” Many of the topics were unrelated to academic areas for which the teens were nominated.

Overall, the Governor’s School experience was not what my relative’s parents expected it to be. If they had it to do over again, they would not allow their son to attend.

A plethora of other summertime offerings are available to advanced students which, unlike Governor’s School, focus exclusively and appropriately upon a child’s passion for a particular academic area.

Marcia James
Jamestown

The article in the sports section has renamed the Wachovia Championship Golf Tournament “The Tiger Woods Golf Tournament” as most other media outlets also name various tournaments. Tiger is an outstanding golfer and deserves the praise he gets but there are also other participants.

I continuously see and hear on all golf articles, even including women’s tournaments, Tiger Woods stories.

Bernard L. Zales
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Danny Glenn

Regarding the column, “Where’s the outrage? Tax-and-spend government defies the law” (April 19):Where was Charles Davenport’s outrage when Bush and Cheney were helping Exxon, Halliburton and a host of war profiteers raid the U.S. Treasury?

Where was his outrage when Bush took a huge budget surplus and turned it into record deficits? Where is the outrage that the booming economy of 2000 was turned into a 2008 financial meltdown due to Republican policies?

He accuses the Obama administration of a tax-and-spend mind set, but borrow-and-spend was the Bush way. The Bush administration introduced socialism for the rich and the well-connected. Now Republicans call helping the victims of their greed socialism.

Republicans continue to spread the lie that FDR’s programs, giving people jobs building roads and infrastructure, didn’t work. Born in 1938, I grew up hearing working people say that Franklin Roosevelt’s programs saved the country and they were grateful. Why do you think he was elected four times?

Davenport characterizes the wealthy as industrious and ambitious, but ignores the fact that about 60 percent of the wealth of the richest was inherited. Industrious Cindy McCain inherited a business worth more than $100 million. Why shouldn’t she pay higher taxes? She could sell one of her seven homes.

Soon enough he begins to denigrate those with whom he disagrees. He casts those of us who are not wealthy as “slothful and indolent.”

Well, Chuck, we the slothful and indolent do your work, fight and die in your wars and suffer when the economy goes bad. We make the sacrifices; we are the sacrificed.

We middle-class working folks are not asking the fortunate to go to some God-forsaken corner of the planet to shed blood for the military-industrial complex. We just need a little help getting the country back on its feet. Paying higher taxes isn’t punishment, it’s patriotism. Don’t you love your country?

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I am writing in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 3-9) to recognize the outstanding work of the entire staff of Peeler Open Elementary School for the Performing Arts.

For more than 30 years, Peeler teachers have been implementing a child-centered philosophy of education that emphasizes collaboration, individual development and respect for others.

For the past 10 years, Peeler teachers have been integrating an arts program that fosters creative thinking and extends itself to every aspect of learning.

What Peeler teachers are inspiring in our kids cannot adequately be measured by a test. They are nurturing thinkers and questioners and people who care.

I am grateful that shrinking financial support, rapidly changing technology and expanding roles of the job have not diminished the patience and commitment to young people that I have witnessed in the halls, on stage, in the classrooms, gardens and playgrounds of Peeler Elementary.

Thank you, Peeler staff, for all you do.

Jen Worrells
Greensboro

The results of President Obama’s first 100 days have been rewarding for those who support big government. However, those same supporters must wonder who will pay for all the bailouts, pork and the trillions of dollars being spent without direction, transparency and honesty.

Obama has put our country’s security in jeopardy by releasing CIA and FBI papers, which only benefit the terrorists. His cry for retaliation against the prior administration reeks of childish behavior. The Obama security programs lack thought, intelligence and wisdom.

His social agenda further damages the quality of life for millions of Americans. His conduct with other world leaders demonstrates his lack of understanding of the international world. Obama is bowing to the wishes of the United Nations.

Why would the president of the greatest country on earth continue to denigrate and demean the United States? He is our president; he should act like one.

Those Obama supporters should stop attacking the critics of the president and realize his actions are wrong and dangerous for this wonderful country.

And he has done it all in 100 days.

Don Mulligan
High Point

Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green and the Board of Education have proposed a “no increase” budget for 2009-2010 as stipulated by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.

Our school district stands to lose more than $10 million this year because of reductions in state funding.

Our county commissioners have, in recent years, refused to grant the budget requests for Guilford County Schools.

I have heard Superintendent Green speak several times. I believe that he has worthy goals and a solid plan for GCS.

I have seen the senior staff and the Board of Education in action. I believe that they have the best interests of our community’s children at heart.

I have felt the struggle of principals, teachers and parents confronted with shrinking resources. I believe that they merit our support.

I have celebrated as local voters approved bonds for school needs. I believe they prize education.

I urge the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to help our schools and our children succeed by fully funding the 2009-2010 GCS budget request.

Laura Farrell
Greensboro

To all you latte-sipping liberals: You should really be happy with the change promised by the new president.

Basically, you have received change for the worse.

After all the comments about Bush being an idiot, a moron and worse, you now have change with Mr. Obama.

He has already proven in his first 100 days that he has made Bush look brilliant compared with the change provided by Obama.

I had to laugh out loud when I heard about the latest fiasco when Air Force One buzzed the New York City area and scared people to death.

Obama really has proven that good judgment is not one of his strengths.

Then we also have a speaker of the House who can’t seem to say anything without a lie right in the middle.

This disgrace, along with all the tax cheats Obama has appointed, makes for real change ... for the worse!

Hollis Bensen
Greensbor

Counterpoint:

By Kenneth Laurent

In his recent column (April 19) to your newspaper, Charles Davenport Jr. asks “where’s the outrage?” over the tax-and-spend government, which “defies the law.”

I will save the constitutionality of health care reform and Davenport’s other concerns of the “Nanny State” for another day, but I will say this: “Promote the general welfare” is in the preamble to the Constitution. Health care reform is crucial to the overall health of our nation’s economy, because like education, health care is by nature becoming more expensive relative to the cost of other goods in our economy.

So, the top 1 percent pays 39 percent of all federal income taxes. This is true. However, Davenport and others who throw this out are being intellectually dishonest when they don’t discuss the following salient points: The reason why the richest 1 percent pay 39 percent of all federal income taxes is because their incomes have more than tripled since 1979. Whom would Davenport have pay more taxes? Someone whose real income has risen by $1.2 million? Or someone whose income has risen by $1,000, all the way up to $17,200, such as the bottom quintile?

The fact of the matter is, the effective tax rate for the richest 1 percent has actually decreased nearly 6 percent since 1979. Tax cuts for the rich are long overdue? Mr. Davenport, it’s already happened, but I’m guessing you know that, given your familiarity with CBO data.

In my work, I serve people in the bottom 20 percent of the economic ladder every day, and they are anything but “slothful” or “indolent.” May Davenport and others who disagree with me never have to choose between taking their child to the doctor for needed care or going to work to get a full paycheck, so gas for their 20-year-old car can be purchased and the light bill can get paid in their rented single-wide, or the scores of other harsh decisions poor families face on a daily basis.

What I am concerned about is you don’t see the top 5 percent at these “tea parties”; it is those who stand to benefit from Obama’s proposed tax policy. So, why do these “tea party” participants continue to support policies against their own economic best interests?

I think I know, but that, too, I will save for another day.

The writer lives in Reidsville.