Sunday LTE's 07/31/11

Good PM, folks!

Apologies for the delay in posting this. Dad remains in the hospital, improving as antibiotics roll back an infection. We got him to the hospital before this became anywhere near a life-threatening situation.

The LTE's: no time to dissect each one, but I see a couple of blame game letters, with Reagan being the target of one, to no useful end at the moment, but typical of Mr. Ostberg, who appears to be kin to the good Dr. Cutri. And, more currently, a more useful observation in that the drunk driver who killed the unfortunate Mr. Thompson is the appropriate focus of blame. However, the cult of victimhood wishes to cast as wide a net as it can. The LTE writer is also correct about the abysmal state of traffic enforcement.

OK, the LTE's:

Blame

It seems strange that people are blaming the death of Vernon Thompson on the lack of sidewalks ("With sidewalk, he'd 'still be alive,'" July 26). Why don't they put the blame exactly where it belongs? That is on the shoulders of James E. Williams. After all, Williams was the one who was allegedly driving the car drunk. Come on, let's get these drunks off our roads.

Also, I thought the legal drinking age was 21.

Our courts and law enforcement are gutless or they would put a stop to this. I guess it involves too many of their friends and family.

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TOM WALKER
Thurmond

Reagan and the debt ceiling

Republicans should be better students of history.

Here's a quote regarding the debt ceiling from Ronald Reagan, their hero, that Republicans have apparently forgotten: "Congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. This brinksmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest rates would skyrocket, instability would occur in financial markets, and the federal deficit would soar. The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations."

Here are some also apparently forgotten Reagan facts:

• Reagan presided over 18 debt ceiling increases;

• Reagan raised taxes 11 times;

• Under Reagan, spending ranged from 21.3 percent of GDP to 23.5 percent;

• In 1988, Reagan significantly expanded Medicare.

Reagan would be thoroughly exasperated by what's now going on in Washington.

When will the adults in the GOP take control and begin exercising responsibility?

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KENNETH R. OSTBERG
Winston-Salem

Government waste

In the early 1970s while I was working at the University of Delaware, the terrible economy led the leaders to decide that they must cut the budget. The president ordered that every department head must cut the department's budget by 10 percent. Every department did it. In housing and residence life, the loss was one employee and a few minor expenses. Most folks wondered why that employee was there, anyway.

No programs were destroyed. Everyone found a way to do without something.

If we were having a friendly conversation and for some reason someone mentioned federal government wastes of money, we would all agree that there is much waste. This waste comes within department budgets and duplicative programs, whether they are duplicative of other programs or things that are already in private enterprise.

Overnight the feds could cut all kinds of expenses and the U.S. would go along. There would be no need to raise taxes or get hysterical with falsehoods about losing programs.

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PAUL JOHNSON
Clemmons

Sum It Up

Will a Republican defeat Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election?

Journal not currently accessible, but post anyway--Saturday 07/30/11

Good AM, folks!

The Readers' Forum is inaccessible for the time being, at least for me. If any you have access, please copy 'em and post as a comment below. If that's not possible, inveigh as you will, within reason. I'm putting a floor down so I will be an infrequent visitor today. TTYL.

The Leopard's Limb 07/29/11 (leftovers, off-topics, whatever)

NOTA
The discussion yesterday about poll results showing "generic Republican" receiving more support from those questioned than actual candidates reminds me of an option given Nevada voters, in that None of the Above is listed on ballots along with more corporeal candidates. It is a symbolic option, however. If NOTA outpolls human candidates for a particular office, the human with the most votes still takes office. NOTA is simply a way of registering a protest vote, sort of like voting for a Republican in Nancy Pelosi's District, or voting for a Democratic presidential candidate in Utah.

Friday LTE's 07/29/11

Good AM, folks!

Well, the LTE writers finally took notice of the budget brinksmanship in DC.

Last-minute dilemma
Amidst the clamor over our debt crisis, the American people need to remember several things. Barack Obama has been president for almost 30 months, and we would not be in this last-minute dilemma if he had done his job.

Obama has presided over an unprecedented increase in spending — from the stimulus fiasco to cash-for-clunkers to costly new regulation of private business. The Democrats, who controlled both houses of Congress from January 2007 until January of this year, neglected to pass any budget for two years. In light of this and to buy time, Obama appointed a bipartisan debt commission led by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. When their findings calling for drastic spending cuts were presented in November 2010, the president chose to ignore them, as he has every Republican attempt to draft a budget. In fact, Obama has stated on numerous occasions that he would veto any legislation calling for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Blame is a professional sport in Washington, and there is certainly plenty to go around. However, a huge part of the blame rightly lies at the feet of this president, whose only response to problems is rhetoric promoting class warfare and tax increases on job creators. His lack of leadership has brought us to this 11th-hour crisis over the debt ceiling. American voters should make sure we do not have four more years of his dangerous ineptitude.

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MARY LOU WILSON
Winston-Salem

Editorial comments
I, and I am certain other citizens of Kernersville, were astonished at the editorial comments blasting Larry Brown ("Brown wouldn't leave big gap in legislature," July 21). Indeed, as I read them, my thoughts ran to the phrase "effete snobs." Certainly Brown sometimes has said things and taken positions I would never have. In fact, he probably is sorry he said made the statements. However, he has been faithful to his task of a voice for our area in the General Assembly and we appreciate that.

The editorial writer just might remember, "Ye who is without sin cast the first stone." By the way, Brown and I are of different political parties altogether.

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JACK WHITE
Kernersville

To the brink
They've done it again. The Republican ideologues in the House of Representatives have once again brought our country to the brink of financial ruin.

Specific recognition for this drama must be given to Majority Leader Eric Cantor and the vacillating Speaker of the House, John Boehner. In Act One, Cantor bolted from the Biden debt-limit talks to force the president to become directly involved. In Act Two last week, Speaker Boehner walked out of negotiations at the White House for the opposite purpose, to push the president out of the picture.

A cynical view is emerging that the House leadership never had any real interest in the long-term, $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan. The negotiations were a charade to run out the clock and then force through a short-term plan favorable to Republicans as default loomed. But even this appears to be backfiring.
This is a great political maneuver to undercut the naïve president but solves nothing. There is no "principled leadership" here, only intransigence, stupidity and threat to every American.

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DAVID PILLSBURY
Winston-Salem

I think
Last week, while driving on an interstate highway in Ohio, I noticed a bumper sticker that read, "I think, therefore I vote Republican."

Forgetting my suspicion at the time that the driver of said vehicle wouldn't know Descartes from à la carte, I must say that he certainly has a point. It does stand to reason that the party that has given us such intellectual heavyweights as Sen. Jesse Helms, President Ronald Reagan, Gov. Sarah Palin, Rep. Michele Bachmann and, oh yes, Rep. Virginia Foxx, would be the thinking person's choice.

It is just so hard to understand why those liberals like columnist Paul Krugman say that the Republican Party has become the party of stupid. I guess Krugman just doesn't think.

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ANDY G. MILLER
Kernersville
Sum it up
The Sum It Up question from Sunday was: Are you satisfied with redistricting plans for congressional and state legislature seats?

* * * * *

The only ones satisfied are the Republican legislators who have succumbed to essentially "cheating" because they probably wouldn't win any other way.

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SUZANNE CARROLL

* * * * *

Redistricting plans for congressional and state legislature is not as important as who will occupy these seats. With hope, it will be people interested in helping people and not a bashing contest.

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ELIZABETH R. ERVIN

Sign-in problems 07/28/11

Good PM, folks!

And welcome to another excellent Readers' Forum poster, missellig.

Some posters report difficulties in signing on to leave posts. If that occurs, sign back out, and sign in again, being sure to leave the "Keep Me Signed In" box UNchecked. If you still have difficulties, repeat the process. That seems to work.

I have done a bit of research the past few nights to see about replacing this free site, which tends to exemplify getting what I pay for. It may be an "aggregator" site on which you can post news links, screeds, etc. Suggestions, recommendations welcome.

The Leopard's Limb 07/28/11 (leftovers, off-topics, whatever)

Word watch
An NBC reporter used the phrase "since the stock market tanked" in a report to anchor Brian Williams.

The budget ordeal
I emailed Virginia Foxx' office yesterday, urging her to support a compromise and get something passed before we default. I pointed out that one of the lesser, but still bad, consequences of default will be the subsequent reinstallation of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker in 2013.

I may follow up the email today with a phone call (I'm advised that phone calls carry more weight--I sit to be corrected about that, however). The Boehner bill being thrashed about in the House is simply political posturing that will go nowhere in the Senate.

From the keyboard of the Leopard
Poster O. T. Rush weighed in last night in the Wednesday LTE's re the debt/deficit. His remarks are worthy of comments, thus I'm reposting it:

One of the biggest problems that we have regarding money in this country is that many of those who choose to comment, including quite a few in the Congress, have a serious vocabulary problem.

They use the terms deficit and debt interchangeably, simply because they don't know any better.

The DEBT is the total of all the money that the nation owes.

The DEFICIT is the amount that we are short each year between income and outgo. The annual deficit, of course, adds to the total debt, but they are far from being the same thing.

The average American homeowner carries a debt to earnings ratio of about 5-1. The USA carries a ratio of about 1-1. As has been pointed out by many real experts, the USA could easily carry a higher ratio. But it would be better if homeowners and the USA carried much lower ratios.

For the USA, the long-term debt is a problem, but nothing can be done to lower it until the deficit is dealt with. So debt is a low priority item at the moment.

If, instead of listening to the hysterical voices of those running for office in 2012, you listen to people who have no horse in the race, but actually know a lot more about economics...say David Stockman and the British magazine "The Economist", you will find that they agree on what needs to be done, keeping in mind that many of the "ideas" of the most hysterical voices would do serious, if not fatal, damage to the fragile US economy.

There are two necessary elements:

1. Cut spending. That is a given. Of course, as pointed out above, there the devil is in the details.

2. Increase revenue. That is a must, because the deficit cannot be substantially reduced by spending cuts alone without destroying any hope of economic recovery. There are two necessary elements for increasing revenue:
a. Increase taxes. That is not optional. Again, the devil is in the details, but it has to be done. Those who     still recite the old mantra that increasing taxes reduces jobs are living in the discredited past. We know it isn't so.
b. Increase the number of jobs. That means that the national economy must be prodded into a healthier mode. How that is to be done is a matter for debate. But consider this.

After 12 years of corruption and neglect by three different presidents created and then deepened the Great Depression (Hoover was not individually responsible for the depression, but his doing nothing for three years made it worse), FDR was advised to try to spend his way out. That, of course, created a fire storm of opposition, which limited the amount of spending that FDR was able to do.
Most legitimate economic historians now say that that was the biggest problem, that FDR should have spent more, which probably would have ended the depression before the outbreak of WW II and even might have prevented that great disaster.

It would be interesting to see what might happen if the American people and their so-called leaders started learning and thinking rather than just reacting to the Chicken Little mentality of the moment.

More from the Leopard
O. T. furnishes more grist for the mill, with a reply to another of our excellent posters, whitewall:

"We will replace that over matched empty suit Marxist front man in thw White House and add a dozen TEA Party type freshmen Senators to the US Senate at the same time as well ad a few more in the House."

As to Whitewall's comment, I am LMAO. Whitewall usually seems to be a reasonable man. But this comment is coming from out of far left field in la la land.

Just who does he think is going to win the office of President for the GOP? After the other GOP candidates destroy Romney for his religious beliefs, there will be three left: Bachmann, Perry and Palin. Does Whitewall seriously believe that any sane voter would choose any of those idiots?

I know Stab has already said that he will not vote for Obama. Since I know for sure that he is not an idiot, I assume that he means that he will vote for the Libertarian candidate, or do a write-in.

Besides, today I saw my first Obama 2012 bumper sticker. Obama is already at least a year ahead of whoever gets the GOP nomination. His people are going door to door, right now, in our town and in thousands of towns across the country. The only question remaining is how much Obama will win by.

As to the "TT Party" (Mommy, I've got to TT), they have had their innings and wasted them on frivolous, symbolic stuff that has failed to advance their or the nation's cause. Anyone who expects them to increase their numbers in either Washington or Raleigh is guilty of "California Dreamin'" as the Mommas and the Poppas put it.

If Bachmann, who is currently #2 in the GOP 2012 polls, gets the nomination, we will be lucky if there is anything left of the GOP after election day 2012.

The American people can be slow and obtuse, but they are most definitely not stupid.

Thursday LTE's 07/28/11

Good AM, folks!

Not a whole lot new under the sun today, especially in the Journal's "Readers' Forum," but do what you can the LTE's or whatever else comes to mind. Perhaps Dr. Cutri's 30 days will soon be elapsed.

One of the best
Scott Sexton's column about the closing of Borders ("'It was a community gathering place,'" July 24) was excellent. However, I regret that he did not mention one of the best resources we have — our local libraries. They have new, old, classic, fiction, non-fiction, reference, large-print, used books, DVDs, CDs and more. Patrons can use computers or learn how to use them. And it is all free — one must just join the library.
Regarding the social aspect — there are programs for children, teens and adults. There are also book clubs to join.

The Central Library and all branches in Forsyth County have Friends organizations — anyone can join for a very nominal fee. Through fundraisers, Friends purchase not only books but anything needed by the library that is not provided for by the county.

Money is used to sponsor programs. Volunteers help with fundraisers and book sales. Become a member today.

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DOROTHY L. SAYERS
PRESIDENT, FRIENDS OF THE LEWISVILLE LIBRARY
Lewisville

Seek counsel
Having served 20 years in the Army of the United States, I believe I am justified in being concerned with the way the war is being conducted in the Middle East. Another mighty country tried to dominate Afghanistan, but failed.

Perhaps we should consult the Russians as to how they handled their war and subsequent withdrawal.

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JAMES P. BARRETT
U.S. ARMY (RET.)
Wallburg

One indication
As an independent voter and a North Carolina citizen, I could not believe what I was reading in the July 23 business section: "N.C. jobless rate rose to 9.9 percent in June." The article stated that the "government was the big job-loser in June, cutting 10,200 jobs ..."; "Local school districts in nearly two dozen counties reported laying off 3,000 workers in June," according to the N.C. Employment Security Commission.
When asked about the layoffs, state Republican chairman Robin Hayes said the lost government jobs are one indication that Republican effects to downsize government is working. After being asked about further government layoffs, Hayes said, "I hope it does increase."

I guess that explains why the Republican-controlled state Legislature has not created any jobs in North Carolina. Its members are very eager to applaud job layoffs that N.C. can ill-afford during these economic times. I frankly do not share the chairman's enthusiasm of 10,200 North Carolinians losing their livelihoods nor the damage it will do to our state, all for a sales-tax decrease of ¾ of a cent.

These people may no longer be government employees, but they will still be receiving a government check. It is called unemployment insurance. Way to go, state Republican Party, for saving N.C. money. And thanks for my 17-cents-per-day sales-tax decrease.

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JIM BUCK
Winston-Salem

The Leopard's Limb 07/27/11

How's that again?

House Speaker Boehner has pulled his debt limit bill to rework it after the Congressional Budget Office showed it saving $835B over 10 years instead of the $1T claimed by Boehner. According to Capitol Hill reporter Jamie Dupree, the bill also would save only $1B in the first year, whereas the GOP budget bill would save $30B. There is a Keystone Kops aspect to the budget disagreement that is disquieting.

As a follow-on, Dupree tweeted at 8:45 that the CBO says that Senate Majority Leader Reid's bill saves $2.2T over 10 years, a finding that he will no doubt trumpet later this AM. All well, and good, but wasn't the target closer to $4T? Still, half a loaf is better than none . . . but, the devil is in the details of how that $2.2T saving is attained.

High stakes
From the Journal via AP comes another report of good gun control. Two masked morons attempted to knock over a poker game in a Raleigh but drew poor hands in so doing, as one or more of the intended victims upped the ante by tossing a few bullets into the pot. The fracas ended with one would-be robber permanently cashing in his chips, while the other folded for the night, and will be charged when released from the hospital. The homeowner, a former major league baseball player, was charged with gambling.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NC_POKER_ROBBERY_NCOL-?SITE=NCWIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Wednesday LTE's 07/27/11

Good AM, folks!

Nothing like starting the LTE's with a good ol' stereotype like a welfare mom, and an octomom, at that.

What a mess
Many of your recent letter writers place blame on either the Democrats or Republicans. It is time for us to stop this.

Based on what I see, hear and read, few elected officials seem capable of realizing what a mess we have. If we gathered these people together and asked for a show of hands of those who spend more than their annual income on a regular basis, I wager that few would raise their hands. Why then do they go about our work and abandon the financial principles that govern their own finances? We have allowed them to put our communities, states and nation at risk, and few seem to realize what they have done and continue to do to us.

Many of these officials bring up the "Founding Fathers" in their interviews. The Founding Fathers wanted the government to do three basic things for the people: Keep them safe and secure, provide educational opportunities and provide for a dignified old age. They never intended for our tax dollars to go to support a high-school dropout who has eight children fathered by eight different deadbeat dads. These people should not be included in the "most vulnerable" list often mentioned by politicians.

Finally, I agree with the July 18 letter "U.S. Foreign Aid," suggesting we offer credits for American-made products and food instead of cash. How nice to have Third World countries using their credits for tractors, wheat and corn instead of receiving checks that never reach the needy.

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TOM D. JONES
Winston-Salem

Blind allegiance

As the drama of the debt-ceiling crisis unfolds in the Beltway, a clearer picture is emerging of one man: Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform.

He had 236 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 41 U.S. senators pledged not to raise taxes. It appears that they swore blind allegiance to Norquist instead of representing their constituents' interest and legislating for the good of the country as a whole. This makes a mockery of our democracy.

A group of radical Republican freshmen in Congress is determined to drive the American economy over the cliff by refusing to raise the debt ceiling. They steadfastly hold to their allegiance to Norquist in spite of the alarm sounded by economists, pundits and local officials of both parties and of all ideological and political persuasions that failure to raise the debt ceiling will devastate the economy as a whole.

The most pressing problem facing the country right now is high unemployment. Politicians must tackle the job problem, and the debt problem should be handled later. Didn't the Republican Party run on the promise of creating jobs in the midterm election? After seven months holding overwhelming majority in the House, the party has not created a single job and now decides to hold the country hostage by refusing to raise the debt ceiling.

Is it not time for voters of all political persuasions to open their eyes and vote wisely in the next election cycle?

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BOON T. LEE
Winston-Salem

Bank safety

Capital alone cannot make a safe bank. Risk levels and capital must be measured constantly and consistently. A risk appetite statement provides direction, on and off the balance sheet, for guarding a bank and the industry.

The most recent FDIC quarterly report shows 888 banks on the problem list; 303 failed to meet capital standards, leaving 585 that met capital but were considered "problem" banks. Regulators use more than just capital to determine safety and soundness.

Here we are one year after Dodd-Frank became law and regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are struggling to write the rules required by legislation. The very regulators whose lack of enforcement led to the last financial crisis are once again behind the eight ball.

Safety in the U.S.? We are the best house in a bad neighborhood. We can do better.

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HIL CASSELL
Lewisville

The Leopard's Limb 07/26/11

Good AM to all. News notes:

Gun control
This was exercised by a Days Inn employee yesterday in Orangeburg, SC. An unnamed woman in her 50's, described as small in the news report, was attacked by a large, knife-wielding career criminal about 6AM. He held a knife to her throat, then set it down so he could tie her up, with sexual assault his objective. He was inattentive enough to miss her producing a handgun. It was a fatal oversight.

Richland County sheriff Leon Lott said about the incident,

“She did the correct thing — she protected herself. The lesson for robbers is, you never know when you are going to encounter someone who is armed and will protect themselves. The bottom line — he is the one who caused him to get killed."

“She did the correct thing — she protected herself.”
“The lesson for robbers is, you never know when you are going to encounter someone who is armed and will protect themselves,” Lott said.
Lott declined to give some details, such as the kind of gun the woman had and where she had it concealed.
“The bottom line — he is the one who caused him to get killed,” Lott said.
http://www.thestate.com/2011/07/25/1910809/hotel-clerk-kills-robber.html#ixzz1TD9ezvvm

A tasteful remembrance
Fans and well-wishers have been leaving tokens of their emotions outside the late Amy Winehouse's residence. According to an NPR report this AM, in addition to the usual flowers and cards, some folks are leaving cigarettes and (no doubt empty) liquor bottles. Nice.

Same old news
Some news is necessarily repetitious. The budget debate has been ongoing for an irresponsibly long time, thus it has been in the news for a long time. What is unnecessarily repetitious is the verbiage from news readers and news commentators. I have cited other examples in previous gripes ("in the tank for" being an example). The budget issue has spawned another tiresome verbal convenience, "kick the can down the road," referring to proposals for a temporary debt limit increase. Surely there is some other, if less jazzy, formulation that these copycats could employ.

Oops, just heard two NPR correspondents use the word "narrative" in referring to controversy and discussion after a Chinese train derailment. And we blame teens for corrupting the language.

Tuesday LTE's 07/26/11

Good AM, folks!

Praise for WFUBMC, condemnation for Donald Kaul, and a British expat's commentary on Rupert Murdoch's holdings. Do what you can with them.

The top hospital

We read with interest the small blurb that appeared in the July 20 business section, "Wake Forest Baptist tops area ranking," noting that U.S. News & World Report had named Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center the top hospital in the Triad in its hospital rankings for 2011-2012. It was such a small notice of such an important recognition that it encouraged us to write a letter to you.

There is a revolution going on at the medical center to ensure continued improvement and the best care for our community.

We are sure the staff of the Journal will join us in congratulating the medical center on its most recent recognition of excellence and in wishing the people who work and support the medical center continued success.

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DR. FRANKLYN M. MILLMAN
DR. FRANCIS X. O'BRIEN
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Winston-Salem

Lowest common denominator

As a migrant Brit, I find the whole Rupert Murdoch episode both astounding and distasteful.

Murdoch and News International, especially their tabloids (known in Britain as the "gutter press"), have pandered to the lowest common denominator in public taste and driven down journalistic standards for decades. Their use of fear and unethical practices has been recognized for many years, long before the first News of the World hacking case in 2005.

As long as it seemed to be confined to publicity-craving celebrities and hypocritical politicians, no one minded too much. When it was extended to lesser mortals and the victims of tragedies, then sentiments began to harden, with the result that Murdoch's media empire in Britain has lost all credibility and suffered irreparable damage. The recent Parliamentary inquiries showed this clearly as officials who previously might have been diffident about taking on the Murdochs and Rebekah Brooks for fear of reprisal perhaps belatedly "unclothed the emperor."

The revelations of the relations between News International, the police and the government is now subject to investigation and the social and political elite in Britain has managed to undermine the respect the average Brit has for these institutions, which is truly lamentable.

The main worry for the Murdochs must be how this will affect their interests in the U.S. and worldwide, especially if they are found to have bribed British officials, which would be a contravention of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

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JOHN HARRISON
Winston-Salem

Replacement

I strongly urge the Journal to remove columnist Donald Kaul from its editorial page and replace him with a fifth-grader who spent the summer operating a lemonade stand in his or her front yard. Of the two, there is no doubt the fifth-grader would possess the stronger economic and financial acumen.

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SCOTT KEITH
Winston-Salem

The Leopard's Limb 07/25/11

Feel free to post off-topic comments, do a little Facebooking, point toward interesting news items. Feel free to do that in the Monday LTE thread, too. But to separate things:

The continuing debt pushing-and-shoving

I received a tweet from Jamie Dupree that reported that President Obama rejected a bipartisan deal for a short-term debt limit increase. The deal was struck yesterday by Boehner, Reid, and McConnell. Reid took it to the WH, whereupon the President rejected it. The details here are unimportant. My question is: when the House, Senate, and Administration all agree on a deal, will that be described as "tripartisan"?

Dupree also reports that Rep Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) opened the House session today by remarking, "We begin another week in Political Wonderland."

Monday LTE's 07/25/11

Good AM, folks! There is a little more diversity in the LTE's today, and no LTE's about dogs or flags, thank goodness.

Hypocritical

Good grief, how hypocritical the Journal is. First you criticized House Speaker Thom Tillis for giving his staff raises ("Tillis breaks word on staff raises," June 15); now that he corrects the problem by letting staff go, you criticize him again ("Disorganized speaker tosses employees aside," July 20). Will nothing he does make you happy?

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EUGENE WILBURN
Winston-Salem

Redistricting

So because of redistricting, Nathan Tabor will not be running for office. Vernon Robinson is backing away from running for office. And state Rep. Larry Brown will probably lose his seat.

This redistricting sounds like a good thing to me.

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FRANK MELTON
Winston-Salem

Leading by example
If congressional Republicans are so hot on cutting costs, why don't they lead by example?
How about:

• Giving themselves a substantial pay cut.

• Taking unpaid leave.

• Closing their cosy little private health-care clinic.

• Closing their private gym.

• Giving up the low-priced cafeteria.

• Closing the bargain-priced barbershop.

• Applying the same rules for retirement pensions that regular people live by, namely only getting a pension after working 20 years instead of just a few.

Let's get something straight that they don't seem to get: Social Security has not added one cent to the deficit. It was designed that way by Franklin D. Roosevelt. We pay for it with our payroll deductions, and the people who administer it are paid with those same payroll deductions. It is not broke and even without changes can pay full benefits until 2037.

It actually has a surplus of $2.6 trillion in government bonds. The problem is, the government has borrowed those bonds and is obligated to pay them back. We need to raise the cap on payroll deductions so that people making more than $106,800 a year pay more into the fund.

Why shouldn't wealthy Americans pay more if they want to draw Social Security benefits? It seems un-American to me that the middle- and working-class taxpayers should subsidize the rich.

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ELIZABETH L. SANER
Kernersville

Our current readership

Congratulations! You have effectively ended all online comments and conversations on The Readers' Forum ("To the readers," July 12). Facebook is a product for the young and not your current readership, which is still trying to figure out smart phones and other devices. Carry on without us!

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HAROLD COLLINS
Kernersville

Correspondent of Week and Sunday LTE's 07/24/11

Good AM, folks! In a bit of a rush this AM, back from early church, now going to take Dad on a partial day trip. Here you go:

Correspondent of the Week
Space leaders

No more U.S. space shuttle, and the future of our space program will depend on privately owned businesses developing inexpensive space flight. Sure.

Thank goodness the Chinese are serious about space exploration and development ("China has moon in mind as it forges on with space program," July 12). They have our money, they'll have space; they're poised to run the future.

Let's hope they'll be benevolent dictators.

Nevermind the last paragraph, but I agree. We have lost some of our national will.

Sunday LTE's:

Debt ceiling

Even the discussion by Congress of the whether to increase the debt ceiling is unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment, Section 4, states, "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."

Any president with gumption would simply increase the debt ceiling and get on with other business.

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HELEN ETTERS
Winston-Salem

A better use

I was disappointed that our Winston-Salem City Council voted to give a tax break on a house owned by an heir to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. fortune ("Tax breaks OK'd for house," July 19). It is a shame that she needs to be encouraged to maintain the upkeep on this property by being granted a 50 percent reduction in property tax.

With the budget issues being faced today, I believe that the city could have found a better use for the $8,250 a year that was "given" to her.

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BECKY VENABLE
Winston-Salem

A once-great nation

The clock ticks down on a once-great nation of God-fearing people. The world watches as the nation that rebuilt Europe twice fades into obscurity and insignificance — the nation that twice in my lifetime rescued greedy banks and brokerage houses that were "too big to fail."

The nation that could put a man on the moon now finds that it is unable to save itself from its own greed and government. The American economy languishes for want of jobs that have been bargained away to offshore nations because American workers wanted more rights and a safe place to work.
It seems to me that Washington is run by lobbyists and greedy idiots. That may seem too strong a statement, but can anyone prove me wrong?

A once-great nation allows veterans to go homeless and offers marginal health care at best. A once-great nation allows its school systems to decay in order to balance the federal budget that is bloated because of congressional and executive-branch fiscal incompetence. A once-great nation allows its own children to go hungry while it feeds half the world. A once-great nation cannot even secure its own borders from the drug wars of another nation — but that is another issue.

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PETER F. THOMSON
Winston-Salem
Sum It Up

Are you satisfied with redistricting plans for congressional and state legislature seats?

Saturday LTE's 07/23/11

Good AM, folks!

LTE's are a bit thin today, but go after 'em or whatever else comes to mind.

One thing that comes to mind is the budget kabuki dance between President Obama and Speaker Boehner. Boehner dramatically broke off talks w/the Prez last night. According to tweets from Washington reporter Jamie Dupree, Boehner said the impasse was over revenue increases. Boehner has offered $800T in 10 years v. Obama's wanting $1.2T, so saieth the Speaker. I may be a bit simplistic, but it appears to me that there is a middle ground: $1.0T.

Anyway, have at it. I must go assist Mrs. Stab in remodeling the master bathroom. I have to detach and move the toilet. "Commode hugging" thus takes on a different form from that which I experienced as a college freshman.

Worthy ideas
I believe the ideas presented in the July 18 letter "U.S. Foreign Aid" to be of merit and worthy of consideration by our elected representatives. I would also add to his foreign aid catalog list the salaries of American technical and business personnel that might be needed to see that equipment is installed properly, imports used appropriately and projects completed in under-developed countries and others where assistance may be necessary.

We need visionaries who will look for new, workable and fair solutions rather than just rant and rave and "curse the darkness" as so many elected legislators are inclined to do. Could it be that they have re-election on their minds? Isn't it time to consider term limits again?

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BILLIE JO BRINSMAID
Winston-Salem

Paid by Americans

I have heard nothing about the U.S. Senate or House members wanting to sacrifice their cost-of-living adjustments each year. I think they should have to revert to Social Security at 65 like all Americans. If they did, I'll bet that Social security would never have to be looked at.

I also believe that Social Security is paid by Americans, not the government. If I understand correctly, they just borrow this money to pay other bills.

Let's get rid of all the bums and let the districts they represent set and pay their salaries. Then we can work on this government debt.

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DOUG SPRY
Advance

A God problem
It is glaringly apparent that this nation is engulfed in an economic and political quagmire. What is not so obvious to most people is the real problem that exists, which is leading to the aforementioned problems.
This nation has a God problem. A God problem cannot be alleviated with economic and political efforts, which are counterintuitive.

The reason we have a God problem is because this country has turned its back on God. Therefore God has allowed our blessings to become curses (Malachi 2:2). When a nation rejects God, what follows is moral rot, evil and wicked behavior manifested in the lifestyles of its people. Lifestyle always trumps morality, doesn't it?

The bottom line in this scenario is that unrepentance of sin is eating away at the heart and soul of this nation like a cancer that has metastasized.

It's obvious that as we grow more wealthy and prosperous, sin becomes more prevalent (Hosea 4:7). The godless institutions of the media, Hollywood, academia, along with certain members of the judiciary and clergy, have relegated God to irrelevancy.

In summary, the antidote to stay God's chastisements requires repentance from sin. Then we can experience the graciousness, mercy and forgiveness of our creator.

However, there are many who do not want God interfering in their lives — God is cooperating.
Will we unknowingly drink from the cup of God's wrath, poured out unmixed?

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JERRY W. GRIFFIN
Walnut Cove

The Leopard's Limb

Leftovers from yesterday, Thursday 07/21 . . .

The New York Times: There is no doubt it is a great compiler of news, though it might be a bit selective about what and how it reports. I don't think that there is much doubt that it also functions as a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party. It certainly has been a fan of Hillary Clinton, whom it endorsed for Senate in 2000, depite "her considerable ethical baggage," as it put it. Later in Clinton's Senatorial career, the Times glowingly referred to her as "New York's excellent Senator." Really? What landmark legislation did she propose and guide through the Senate?

That said, I'll have to give the Times a look or two once again. I once read it on a daily basis.

Interesting about fussing re press bias. Biased newspapers are nothing new in the U. S. In times past, biased papers were probably as much the rule as were more objective journals. This can be seen in the names of some of the papers, such as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, whence, btw, the nickname Slick Willie originated, ironically. One of the paper's columnists was less than impressed by his state's future contribution the Presidency.

Closer to home, the Raleigh News & Observer was once given an award by the NC Democratic Party for its sympathetic coverage.
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Paul Revere: O. T.'s recitation of the opening lines of Henry Wadsworth That Fellow's poem reminds of an occurrence years ago that involve his poem, sort of. Late one night, teletypes in newsrooms all across the country chattered to life, rendering the lines cited by O. T., at least initially. Then the ode veered off course, taking Paul into explicitly X-rated activities that involved neither the British nor his horse (not positive about the latter).

The source of the vulgar poem was a techician at one of the wire services, AP IIRC. He had taken a teletype off-line, he thought, to test it. It obviously was not off-line. Naturally, a hue and cry arose, and AP fired the culprit, a sad stifling of creativity, methinks.

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Bachmann and her broomstick: Nice pun, O. T. If she wins the nomination (perish the thought), she will have to fly it over all 57 states, won't she?

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Debt default: Arthur, thank you for the list of economists and their commentary re default. I emphatically agree with both you and O. T. on the consequences, which, as O. T. noted, are already accruing.

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Samaritan Ministry: I have volunteered there a few times, staying overnight. I got more out of being there than the guests got out of me, I suspect. I worked in the kitchen at supper time, then socialized with the guests till bedtime, then arose to staff the front desk at some vampirish hour. Spending time with those fellows helped transform The Homeless from an anonymous group of winos into real people, some who are quite intelligent and articulate. "There but for the Grace of God go I . . . " It is a well-run organization, caring for, but not coddling, its guests. I have been unable to volunteer of late, as I have had to remain close and on-call for my dad and late mom. I recommend volunteering. If anyone is interested, let me know, and I'll be happy to point him/her in the right direction.

Friday LTE's

Good AM, folks!

It's a busy AM, thus the LTE's are a bit later than normal. Have at 'em.

Not surprised

Somebody has to say it.

I'm not surprised at all by Rupert Murdoch's troubles — that people who worked for him are being accused of and are likely guilty of phone-hacking and bribing police officers and other officials. I won't be surprised if the trail of crime leads directly to the top, Murdoch himself. Anyone who insists that his propaganda TV network use the slogan "fair and balanced" while it spends so much time and money distorting the facts isn't really interested in fairness or balance; he's interested in ratings and money.

I know that Fox News has a lot of people in this country brainwashed. It feeds their prejudices and tells them what they want to hear. It makes them believe that their bigotry has some kind of merit. I hope these followers will be brave enough to follow the coverage of Murdoch's employees' violations on some channel besides Fox, which has already started to paper it over. Maybe they'll learn something about what "fair and balanced" really means.

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JOSEPH HAILEY
Winston-Salem

Immigration proposals
The writer of the July 17 letter "In such trouble" refers to what Sen. "Cotton Ed" Smith proposed about immigration, which was to "shut the door." He goes on to recommend the "punitive measures" (his words) that other states are now using.

Most of your readers are probably unfamiliar with "Cotton Ed" Smith. For the uninitiated, some excerpts from a Time magazine profile (from Aug. 7, 1944), should be illuminating:
"He never tried to overcome his horror at the thought of a Negro voting. He had two ideas: 1) keep Negroes down, 2) the price of cotton up. On this platform Cotton Ed was kept in office as a U.S. Senator for six terms, long enough to become the dean of the Senate.

"He walked out of the 1936 Democratic Convention in high dudgeon because a Negro preacher read a prayer. He was a drag-end isolationist. He was a believer in poll taxes; he was never heard to protest a Southern lynching; and he stood prepared to filibuster to the end against an anti-lynching bill."
I really don't think I care what "Cotton Ed" Smith has to say about immigration, nor do I care what the letter writer has to say about immigration.

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WESLEY HINES
Winston-Salem

Embarrassing actions
Are our U.S. senators and representatives not embarrassed by their actions concerning the debt ceiling and deficit reduction? The simple fact is that many economists who comprehend the seriousness of the economic consequences better than our elected officials indicated that we could plunge our frail economy into a much worse situation than we are already enduring by not raising the debt ceiling. This situation needed to be resolved months ago instead of waiting until the last minute, creating the economic uncertainty we are experiencing now.

All budgetary matters begin with Congress, which would include raising or not raising the debt ceiling. Where is the leadership? When did ideology become more important than what is best for the citizens of the Unites States?

McConnell, R-Ky., just wants to avoid his budgetary responsibility as an elected official by suggesting giving the power to raise the debt ceiling to President Obama. He, like every senator and representative, should vote whether to raise the debt ceiling and let the chips of blame fall where they may for the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Politicians getting elected again is not as important as their constituents.

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PATRICK MILLER
Deep Gap

"Bachmann: Everybody Should Pay Taxes" (And she means everybody)

Michelle Bachmann, a current darling of the right who recently announced that she's running for President, has come up with a way to help reduce the deficit: tax the poor. She cites the oft-quoted stat that about half of people with incomes do not pay Federal income taxes, and that they should indeed shoulder some of the burden. Article is here: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/07/21/bachmann-everybody-should-pay-taxes/

I keep hoping for a good candidate to challenge President Obama, but Congresswoman Bachmann reminds me of Clint Eastwood's sneering line to a Marine platoon in Heartbreak Ridge, where Gunnery Sergeant Highway rasps, "The Marines are looking for a few good men. You guys ain't it." Her remarks re the poor paying more taxes remind me of a stunt Rush Limbaugh perpetrated in the 90s when he was worth listening to.

Limbaugh suggested that the way to solve our budget problems was to tax the poor. He went on for a while about this, scorning and scolding the poor, and insisting that the poor should pay more taxes. It was a fiery and masterful presentation. His switchboard lit up as the Perennially Indignant called in to savage Limbaugh's gleeful screener.

Fiery and masterful it was, but it was also April 01. April Fools! He changed course. "You people are so ready to let someone push your hot button!" he scolded. "THE POOR HAVE NO MONEY!"

I am sad to note that what was a gag pulled by a then-talented radio personality is now a campaign plank for a rising Republican star. Alas, Rush is now a jaded (and unlistened-to in this quarter) and falling ratings star, but Bachmann is a rising Republican star. So, we have a community organizer in the White House who believes we can borrow and unionize our way to prosperity as the Left's contribution to the body politic, and a rising star on the Right who wants to tax folks who have no money. Out of 310MM Americans is this the best we can do?

I changed my registration to Unaffiliated in January. It's real easy to do. You don't have to leave your computer. Finding real leaders is a bit more difficult. Diogenes, where are you when we need you?

For the record, I quit listening to Limbaugh about 15 years ago. My skull did not revert to mush.

"Americanisms: 50 of your most noted examples"

Someone (Winston Churchill?) once said that the British and the Americans are two people separated by a common language. Attached is a link to a BBC article listing Americanisms that have slithered into usage in Mother England. I sympathize with many of the examples submitted, but others are of long-standing usage.  Thus, the complaint that we pronounce the 26th letter as "zee" rather than "zed" falls on deaf ears and blind eyes.

Things could be worse. I note that the tsunami of overusage of the word "like" did not make the list, and neither did "wake-up call," or "in the tank for." I'm like, "What's up with that?"

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14201796

The Leopard's Limb, TH 07/21

Following up on conversation from yesterday and before . . .

Sir Christopher Lee: O.T., I enjoyed those Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee films. They really refined the vampire genre. I remember Cushing having a tough time in one of them, actually gets bitten, but cauterizes the wound with a red-hot knife or similar, escapes being inducted into the Undead. Later, he dispatches a vampire (Lee?) by pushing the blades of a moonlit windmill so that they cast the shadow of a cross upon the unfortunate night critter. Quick thinking!

Internet accuracy: I tend to agree with your assessment of the accuracy of Internet "facts." I recall seeing lists of purported facts circulating some years back. I don't receive such now, probably because email has been supplanted to some extent by Facebook et al. One list claimed to explain the origin of various phrases, such as "the whole nine yards," meaning "complete." One explanation had it that the phrase originated from air combat, because the length of a fighter plane's ammunition belts was nine yards. Pilots who expended their ammunition on a target supposedly said, "I gave him the whole nine yards." This is unlikely, as pilots were more likely to refer to how long the machineguns' bursts lasted, as in "I gave him three seconds" (for a typical American fighter--Mustang or Hellcat--that would be around 270 shots--15 shots/second X 3 seconds X 6 .50-cal. MG's). By my calculation, the length of an F6F-5 Hellcat's belts totalled around 16 yards, btw.

Lee's "commando" career: that was not an Internet "fact." I was quoting "LOTR" director Peter Jackson, who reported Lee's supposed familiarity with stabbing death in a "making of" feature that accompanied the extended DVD version of "The Two Towers." Perhaps both Lee and Jackson enhanced Lee's wartime service a bit. Either that or things got a bit rough in the SOE office.

John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Iwo Jima: Supposedly John Wayne said, "Life is tough. It's tougher when you're stupid." in "Sands of Iwo Jima," but that is disputed in various places in that compendium of "facts" known as the Internet.

The encounter between Marvin's backside and a Japanese bullet reminds me of my CA ex-wife's dad, who was a very reluctant WW2 veteran. So reluctant, in fact, he went AWOL before shipping out to the Pacific. His mother, more patriotic than her son (and with less potential exposure to bullets), turned him in to the authorities. He rejoined his unit, and was part of the Iwo invasion. He won a Purple Heart. Like Marvin, he was shot in the posterior. One wonders that he might have been shying from combat when hit.

Thursday LTE's 20110721

Good AM, folks!

Sort of a tepid set of LTE's this AM. Do what you can with them.

Good news

Some might criticize the Journal for featuring a front-page story about the new Harry Potter film ("The last spell," July 15). Personally, I wish there were more news like this. Everything is so grim in America right now we need a reminder that life goes on, that our children can be happy and have fun and play (and be enthused by stories that began as must-read novels).

I wish that all these political disagreements were settled, that the biggest thing Congress had to argue about was whether to order blue stationary or gray stationary. Congress seems to invent things to argue about in attempts to gain power. Its members also seem to have a double standard, thinking an idea is good until the other side adopts it, then fighting vehemently against it. Can't let the other side accomplish anything good, after all — they might get re-elected.

And though I largely blame the Republicans (Light bulbs? They want to argue about a light-bulb program that was created during and endorsed by the Bush administration?), I realize that the Democrats have their faults, too.

Politics doesn't need to be so harsh and competitive, not when you're supposed to be working for the good of the people, and I wish we had rules that allowed us to immediately recall anyone who went around the bend.

In the meantime, Journal, please keep reminding us that not all life is political.

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JANE GIBSON
Kernersville

The end result
In recent years, so-called "old technology" jobs were encouraged to be moved to poverty-ridden nations to make room for "new technology" jobs. The end result has been widespread unemployment. Millions of Americans have gone into poverty.

Old technology includes things like telephones, automobiles, radios, TVs, furniture, clothing, tires, tools, lawn mowers, yard equipment, paints, plastics, etc. The list could go on and on. This is what most people buy.
In the meantime, the management and owners of existing American companies found that if they cut the salaries of their workers, this would result in extra income for the management and owners, who might get into Wall Street schemes and become multi-millionaires or even billionaires if Congress gave them the right tax breaks.

Meanwhile, unemployed or under-paid workers could still buy old technology products if they were willing to put them on credit cards at high rates of interest.

College graduates had better find ways to get into the management of existing companies if they want to buy yachts and second and third homes. The others must go for government handouts and settle for old-tech products.

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HAROLD PARKER
Clemmons

Locked up
In reference to the July 14 article "Woman charged in dog's starvation death," in which Jennifer Towery Hunt of Lexington was charged with felony killing of an animal by starvation after authorities found a dead dog in her house, she could have at least left the four dogs outside instead of locked up inside to surely die. Maybe outside they could have wandered around, finding food and water.

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CHRISSY GALLAHER
Winston-Salem

The Leopard's Limb

This post is titled after a comment by our good poster O. T. Rush, who likened himself to a leopard reposing on a tree limb, waiting for his favorite prey, good poster Roblo, to pass underneath. Roblo, fearing no leopards, did indeed pass underneath, but O. T. was catnapping at the time, though he later pounced, and their debate renewed. I'm using this post to follow up on leftovers from yesterday.

JohnG: he was indeed an interesting poster in the Forum. I generally disagreed with the gent, but he welcome here if anyone runs across him.

Ancestry: O. T., well you might be proud of your ancestors. Like many of us, my ancestry is somewhat interesting. My paternal grandmother was descended from Germans who settled in Iowa. Since my mother and father were distant cousins (southerners, y'know), both are descended from a gent of English/Scots-Irish ancestry who emigrated to Delaware from what is now Northern Ireland. He sired what became a long line of (usually impecunious) preachers. My paternal great-granddad was such a reverend but ultimately went to work for the Durham tobacco Dukes, moved to Cuba and set up a business that my grandfather grew into tobacco and sugar plantations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and elsewhere. He was a multi-millionaire, but (sigh), two hurricanes, the Depression, and Smoot-Hawley ended that, so I post this history from a work computer rather than from my study in my retirement home overlooking the Pacific.

Mrs. Stab: Thank you, O. T. She will no doubt blush when informed of your compliment.

Comedians: The ones you listed were indeed great. You of course remember George "Kingfish" Stevens, from "Amos 'n' Andy," of radio and television. Foxx said everything he learned about comedy, he learned from watching Tim Moore, who played Kingfish in the television series. Interestingly, unlike his protege, Moore never did any off-color humor. Speaking of family friendly comedians, I saw Jay Leno on stage years before he hosted the "Tonight Show." While not particular off-color, he was definitely non-PC beyond what NBC would have tolerated--I recall references to Arab cab drivers in big cities and Indian (as in India) clerks in convenience stores.

Little Moron: the screen/strained joke is the best. The few jokes I ever heard were LM jokes: Why did the Little Moron throw a clock out the window? And the same query, but substituting butter for the clock.

". . . science always prevails.": Yes, but in my readings and watchings over the past few year or so, I observe were science is viewing larger vistas, and some aspects of religious belief are no longer quite so divorced from science as once appeared.

Wednesday LTE's 20110720

Good AM, folks! Below are today's LTE's copied from the Winston-Salem Journal. Come left, right, and center, and have at them or whatever else comes to mind. Please do not shun the Journal's site, as it is the source of these and deserves the page views.

Both sides have points
I've been following the discussion over raising the debt limit.

I understand the left's point: America cannot default on its debts and obligations. To do so will weaken our standing in the world and cause great financial distress for everyone.

I understand the right's point: We can't keep spending. We've got to draw the line somewhere.

And then there's all the political talk that obscures the point or tries to make the other side look either incompetent or evil. And the public buys it; the rabid public is eager to assign blame.

The best solution would be to compromise — raise the limit, cut spending and raise taxes modestly. When the debt is paid off, then we can cut taxes. This is what pretty much any family in debt would do: tighten the belt and put more money toward loan payments.

Unfortunately, compromise doesn't seem to be possible. We've hired a bunch of children to run the country. Not that there's much alternative; you have to be some kind of nut to get into politics in the first place.
In light of that, as sad as it sounds, I think we need to default. I think we need to suffer a bad economy or whatever it takes to stop spending so much money. We've got to draw the line somewhere and it's never going to be easy, whenever or wherever we do it.

It's going to hurt. Let's pull the Band-Aid and get it over with.

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SAMUEL F. MEADE
Winston-Salem

Nice town
I loved the story "N.C. town, population 117, has a fall election, but no one is running" (July 16). Imagine a city where no one is power-hungry or anxious to order other people around.
Wherever the town of "Tar Heel" is, I think I might like to live there.

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JULES HOOPER
Winston-Salem

Teacher evaluation
Thank you for your recent support for changing the way teachers are evaluated ("There's more to it than test scores," July 15). You are so right when you state that evaluating teachers is not always straightforward. Our principals are in and out of our rooms throughout the week, so we are told very quickly, or should be, if there's something that needs to be changed.

I am a 19-year veteran and absolutely love my job, despite the fact that the money is much less than most professionals earn and the task at hand is very dependent on the student's attitude, parents' attitude and how the child is taken care of at home. So many of our children come to us from very poor home situations, so my love and caring in the classroom might be all they get in a given day. So many of our children come to school hungry for food and attention, so learning is not always a top priority for them.

I very much invite anyone to come into my classroom to see what I do with these precious babies. But please remember, there's so much more to it than just book-learning.

Those who have concerns should consider volunteering at a local school. There are never enough volunteers to help with some simple paperwork or just listening and reading to a child.

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VICKI HOSS
Winston-Salem
The writer teaches at Union Cross Elementary School in Kernersville.
— The editor.

Financial stability
When we need strong leadership, the Republican Party is willing to cover its supposed assets, ceding power to the presidency in the process. Refusing to include increased revenues as a means of addressing our rising deficit merely passes this liability on to our children and grandchildren.

Continuing tax cuts last fall has had no measurable effect on unemployment — the same charge the Republican Party continues to make against the stimulus. It's time for sacrifice from all.

While the president has placed everything on the table, the Republican Party continues to deny the problem its ideology has created. The Republican Party promoted tax cuts while incurring the costs of two wars. It's time to accept the responsibility for those decisions.

The quickest way to achieve financial stability is to cut spending and raise revenues. That does not result in increasing the size of government. It does increase the likelihood that the future will not be as bleak for our children, regardless of their status.

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RANDY IVIE
Winston-Salem

"Crime makes you stupid." And worse.

The above pronouncement was uttered by a member of the Baltimore PD homicide unit years ago. Criminals continue to validate the gent, most recently in the case of a scavenger who climbed an electric power substation fence in Cowpens, SC, and set out to mine copper wiring to sell for scrap. He drew a charge for his efforts, not one issued by the local authorities. The thief's bumbling killed power to the 3,000 Duke Power customers and killed the thief. It is a bit mean-spirited to note the poetic justice here, but unavoidable for me.
http://www.wyff4.com/r/28592862/detail.html

Tuesday LTE's 20110719

Good AM, folks! We had a short discussion last night that included a bit of the pee and vinegar of the pre-Facebook Readers' Forum, refreshing. Below are are the ponderings of today's LTE writers. Have at it.

A few suggestions
We have been inundated with debt-and-spending chatter in the media. We do have a serious problem, but both sides think they have the only solution. As an independent, here are my suggestions:

We should go to a flat tax or a national sales tax (The Fair Tax). This would eliminate all loopholes and guarantee that everyone pays their "fair share." This would eliminate the need for the IRS at its current size. Rather that laying off all those people, they could be assigned to finding and eliminating fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and all other social programs.

If the tax loopholes were eliminated, it would eliminate the need for lobbyists — they would have nothing to lobby for, and our congressmen would have to buy their own dinner.
If set properly, it would give the U.S. one of the world's lowest corporate tax rates. This would allow all these companies to repatriate those profits they are holding overseas to be invested here, plus it would attract more companies to the U.S.

We should declare victory in Iraq and Afghanistan, bring home the troops and stop throwing away billions. These returning troops would have trouble finding jobs, but we are already paying them, so we could offer their services to all the towns, cities and states laying off people.

Finally, implement term limits, a balanced-budget amendment and require all federal and state employees to have the same Medicare, Social Security and health plans that we, their "bosses," have.

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KEN HOGLUND
Clemmons

Hard life
I was greatly affected by the July 15 Thomas Friedman column "Adapt or die," in which he explains how America's workers need to become more adaptive and harder-working to make it in today's work world. I have no doubt that what he says is at least partly true, and that's what saddens and scares me.

Why are we all working ourselves to death? Is it just to have more stuff? I don't think so; it seems to me like more and more people are working harder and harder just to get by. Never mind the unemployed, that's a different topic — those who are lucky enough to have jobs are going crazy from stress.

This used to be known as the "rat race," as if we were mice circling around in mazes hunting for the cheese. It's no way for decent people to live. We should be able to put in a decent day's work that doesn't lead to early death, and then we should be able to relax and enjoy the fruit of our labor.
America leads the world in productivity. And the price we pay is to burn ourselves out. And now we find politicians threatening our Social Security and Medicare, so we can't even rest when we get old.

What does it get us? Does life really have to be so hard?

There's got to be a better way to run our society.

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MARK B. HOWARD
Winston-Salem

Out of touch
I beg to differ with the letter "Seeking solutions" (July 14). The writer's statement about Democrats rejecting any reduction in Medicare is unfounded.

I, too, am on Medicare and Social Security. I am also a registered Republican.

What I understand while watching and reading about the debt-crisis negotiations is that the word "compromise" is not recognized by the Republican leadership.

President Obama and Democratic leadership have said all along that they are willing to discuss entitlement reductions as long as there is also discussion on bringing in new forms of revenues. But all that I hear is "No new taxes, Mr. President."

We need to stop worrying about next year's election and start thinking about the American citizens. If everything is on the table, then everything should be on the table. As far as Social Security and Medicare go, those are entitlements that millions of people have been paying into, expecting something in return when they reach their retirement age. They have no choice in whether to pay. It is deducted directly from their paychecks.

This letter writer is misleading the readers of this newspaper.

I also think that our elected representatives need to start representing the citizens who elected them. It's really a shame that the average citizen couldn't afford to run for a $170,000 job that also pays them when they either retire or get voted out.

Our elected representatives don't know what reality in America is. They are totally out of touch.

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ROBERT SPIEGEL
Winston-Salem

Monday LTE's 20110718

Good AM, folks! Today's Winston-Salem Journal LTE's are below. Fire away.

Foreign Aid

The U.S. spends about $30 billion per year on foreign aid. Much of this money is wasted by corrupt governments and embezzled by foreign officials. Very little of the money is used for the intended purposes, and we receive almost no credit or appreciation from the people of these countries.

Why not make all foreign aid available only in American-manufactured products delivered by American ships and vehicles? A catalog of American products could be given to the governments, and they could order up to their aid limit. Items could include food, medical supplies and equipment, farming equipment, mining equipment, factory equipment, military equipment, construction equipment and supplies, etc. There is nothing these foreign countries could possibly need that could not be obtained from American manufacturers. Everything supplied would be obviously marked as coming from America.

Implementing this approach would create thousands of American jobs and stimulate our economy with no additional cost to the taxpayer. It would eliminate most of the waste of our aid money and benefit the citizens of the countries receiving the aid. It would benefit our economy rather than that of competing countries. Perhaps this would generate some credit and appreciation from the foreign citizens.

Our problem is to get Congress to implement such an obvious and simple solution to our foreign-aid expenses.

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DONALD L. GARREN

Lambsburg, Va.

Anonymous method

Thank you for doing away with the essentially completely anonymous method of commenting on your stories online ("To the readers," July 10). I do not fully endorse Facebook as the mechanism for authentication, but I certainly understand the business reasons for using it.

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NORMAN HILL
Lewisville

Fear and paranoia

The July 13 story "GOP's light bulb idea goes dark" and the same day's letter "The greatness of the U.S." exemplify perfectly the fear and paranoia that prevent me from taking conservatives seriously.

The letter writer says, "… we don't like government telling us what food to eat, what light bulb to use or what air to breath." I could sort of understand that if the government were saying to eat slime, furnish our houses with strobe lights and breath air with a high methane content — but the government hasn't done anything of the sort.

I want my food to be inspected for safety — we've seen, in the news, what happens when it isn't. The aforementioned story points out that new standards for light bulbs mean that we'll pay less and use less energy for the same amount of light. Is that really worth fighting against? As for air — well, I'm just dumbfounded. "We don't like the government telling us what kind of air to breath"? Is there really someone who would prefer breathing polluted air? Really?

I could understand these "freedom fighters" if they were fighting rules that make life worse for Americans. But why are they always objecting to things that make life better for Americans?

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ROGER L. MACK
Winston-Salem

Both are taught

In the July 10 "Doonesbury" comic strip, cartoonist Garry Trudeau depicted a school where both evolution and creationism are taught. During the discussion of creationism, a student in this school asked the teacher to stop because he wanted "to get into a good college."

Calvary Baptist Day School students examine both evolution and creationism. Members of the Class of 2011 have been accepted to UNC Chapel Hill, Davidson College, Duke University, N.C. State, Wake Forest University, West Point, Wheaton College and Yale University (Mr. Trudeau's alma mater).

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BILL WALTER
Winston-Salem

Headed toward the middle

This is not based on anything hijacked from the Winston-Salem Journal, but is certainly topical:

I normally do not watch the chattering class on the news networks, as I can form my own opinions sans assistance from ratings- and agenda-driven talking heads. However, Mrs. Stab occasionally does, and last night she was watching Bill O'Reilly. I probably share a good bit (not all, mind you) of his outlook, but do not like his yelling and interrupting his guests. Nor do I like his show's giving Al Sharpton credibility by having him as a frequent guest.

That said, I sat with Mrs. Stab last night and watched O'Reilly's opening monologue. It was notable for its centrism: the national debt is a crisis and it must be addressed in a variety of ways. Unyielding opposition to revenue (tax) increases counterproductive, as is the same obstinacy re spending cuts.

O'Reilly suggests spending cuts augmented by closing tax loopholes, thus effectively raising taxes. He noted that he has been cited twice by the White House as a voice of moderation in the debt debate, and that the White House has noted that some Republicans are joining the realistic shift to the middle in this debate. This is where we need to be, where Democrat House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is saying "Bravo!" to a suggestion by Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Now, whether it deserves a "Bravo!" is another matter, but his willingness to budge, along with his discussions with Majority Leader Harry Reid, does warrant the cheer.

What doesn't warrant a cheer is the fact that all these pols, including President Obama, are picking around a matter that should have been resolved, a part of a much larger whole that is being neglected by this kabuki dance. That whole includes "regrowing" the US economy into a process that actually makes things other than Big Macs and whose current major growth industry is the care of sick people. It also includes addressing the tax system, energy policy and climate change (sorry, it's a fact). And ending the wasting of our national treasure on the current wars as soon as possible. By national treasure, I mean the lives of our military. We have spent too many in at least one wrong place as it is.