Friday, September 16, 2011

Winston-Salem Journal LTE's FR 09/16/11

Good AM, folks!

A little different flavor to the LTE's, today, with no sermons about prayer or rants about people's private lives.

Moral obligation

It wasn't bad enough that its leaders felt no moral obligation to return money they did not deserve to the State Health Plan. Now they have added bullying to their misbehaviors by suing Joseph Vincoli ("N.C. Baptist suing ex-employee turned whistle-blower," Sept. 11).

Those of us who participate in the State Health Plan owe Vincoli a debt of gratitude for doing the right thing. Too bad the hospital cannot seem to do likewise.

DAN MONROE
Clemmons

Out of hand
I don't get the comments in the Sept. 12 letter "Wash my hands" about Republicans. I'm conservative, being not a wasteful person. Twenty years ago I told a co-worker that the government just keeps squeezing the middle man, and when the middle man was done, so was this great country. Yet government continued to spend and create new programs.

Now with jobs gone and less tax money coming in, programs that were created are going to have to be cut. The money is just not there.

If government continues to squeeze the middle man, pretty soon he will have nothing left, and then where will we be? Who will provide all the programs then?

How about some of the "poor" people step up and do community gardening and do without cellphone plans, cigarettes and tattoos? And what if they had to have a mom and dad at home to help with finances, school work and guidance before they were allowed to receive financial aid? I see a lot of wasted money and very little effort due to the giveaway "programs" that are presently in place.

The letter writer doesn't like Republicans? Who else is going to help protect me from giving away every little amount of money I have? Come on. Sure, there need to be programs, but it has gotten way out of hand, so eliminating programs is the only way we can approach this.

EVAN REISS
Clemmons

Hospital kept quiet
Baptist Hospital apparently received money from the State Health Plan (read "taxpayers") to which it wasn't entitled but won't return ("N.C. Baptist suing ex-employee turned whistle-blower," Sept. 11). The details are complicated, but the state auditor said that it was the state's fault due to a poorly written contract and poor monitoring. The hospital apparently knew about the overpayments but decided to keep quiet about it.

This is very disturbing. How is this different from a person giving a store clerk a $10 bill to pay for a $5 item and receiving change for a $20? The error is clearly the clerk's fault, and the loss will fall on the store. Nothing illegal, just an error. But doesn't the customer have a moral obligation to point out to the clerk that she gave him too much change?

This situation is similar. Yes, the state made an error, but by not pointing it out, Baptist Hospital is no different from the customer who got change for a $20. Keeping the taxpayers' money may not be illegal, but it is a clear violation of anyone's code of ethics.

Then, after engaging in this unethical behavior with an apparent clear conscience, the hospital had the unmitigated gall to sue the employee who reported the problem to the state. Firing him for pointing out the hospital's flawed ethics wasn't bad enough, now he must be further punished.

Baptist Hospital should lose the suit, pay all the individual's legal costs and provide compensation for firing him.

HERBERT OSMON
Winston-Salem

Justice
I don't know Forsyth District Court Judge Denise Hartsfield. I don't know exactly what she did and what she didn't do. I don't know the true motivations of those who are accusing and prosecuting the ethics investigation of her conduct. And I don't know whether she is accused of "something that everyone does on that bench," as alleged by the Rev. John Mendez and others who attended the rally in support of Judge Hartsfield ("Rally held for judge," Sept. 5).

But I do know that I don't want to live with a judicial system in which friends of the judge receive one sort of "justice" and those who don't know the judge receive another. If all/most/some judges accord special treatment to their friends, they should be removed from the bench. If allowed to continue, they render Justitia ("Blind Justice") just another work of art and she loses all her meaning as a symbol of the goal to which we should want our judicial system to aspire: equal justice for all.

GUY M. BLYNN
Winston-Salem

56 comments:

  1. Well, without a good old "TB rant" things are kind of limp. Might be a good time to visit Mother Jones web site and see what they are wetting themselves over.

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  2. Have fun. I played over in The Leopard's Limb.

    It is quiet w/o a rant from one side or the other. Also, Junior must have taken a job as a bathroom attendant, as he is not here to stir things up.

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  3. Stab, obviously you have not learned from my grandmother's advice about saying the devil's name...any minute now ol' Junior will come roaring in.

    Or maybe with the sharp drop in temperature, he is already in the early stages of hibernation.

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  4. Hello, OT. I'm sure his restroom post is warm.

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  5. Maybe he is having trouble with the paperwork.

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  6. :), I see where Mitt Romney got the crucial Carter endorsement. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/jimmy-carter-wants-mitt-romney-republican-nominee-141827488.html

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  7. That might get him T Paw's other vote.

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  8. Carter endorses Romney? Well that's one Baptist.

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  9. I've got a Baptist friend who likes Romney, so that's two Baptists. Or maybe not. He hasn't been to church in about 35 years, and when he says Baptist he puts effing in front of it.

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  10. A third Baptist and we have a landslide into Mormonism?

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  11. I figured some of you worthless liberals would be running your mouths about me while I was gone.

    Unlike youens, I use my butt for what it's intended for like hauling it up and down mountains, and getting exercise sometimes, not for those other despictable acts some of youens use it for.

    What have I missed besides Rush/Kitty Kat making an idiot out of himself, as usual?

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  12. Hello, Bucky. "Youens"? Are you from Pittsburgh?

    OT, your granny was right.

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  13. For once that rush/kit nit-wit is right. I was minding my own business this morning until that nit-wit Stab called me. Well, here I am and you're not going to like it.

    Those letters about the hospital are stupid. The Bible tells us all we need to know about morality. Show me anywhere in the Bible where it says if some idiot overpays you you should give it back. Jesus might do it, but God wouldn't, and God is the head knocker.

    And what kind of name is Reiss? Some Nazi. It's none of his business if I want to get a tattoo or smoke. Shut up.

    And I didn't see anything about Mormons in the LTEs, so why are you talking about them? I don't care if a million Baptists like Romney, Mormons are demons and Brigham Young was the anti-christ. Any man who has more than one wife is just plain crazy. One is more than enough.

    Anon, Jr.

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  14. Well hello, Junior. Woke up on the wrong side of the gutter this AM, did we?

    Reiss might be a Jewish name, thus hardly a Nazi. He and I have a right to our opinions, and my opinion is that it is stupid to spend for a tat when one is short on money. Whether some one does or not is indeed neither my biz nor Reiss'.

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  15. And that is "Mr. Nitwit," to you. Note the spelling, no hyphen, btw.

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  16. You guys gripe about me when I'm in here, and then you whine when I'm not. What's up with you guys?

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  17. Well, actually we gripe about you above your back, since trolls live under bridges.

    But, trolls are welcome here, as this site welcomes diversity.

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  18. Arthur....you cry baby....I figured we'd run you off.

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  19. OK, MISTER Nitwit, obviously the guy changed his name to hide his Nazi connections. I'll bet it used to be Reich, and there were a bunch of Nazis named Reich. I know of three guys right off the top of my head, just don't know their first names - Reichsleiter, Reichsinspekteur and Reichsmarschall, so there.

    Anon, Jr.

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  20. Well, to use your terms, we've got one troll and some yet identified, and a bunch of nitwits. So I guess that about evens it out.

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  21. There were a number of Reichsleiters, including Himmler, Goebbels, and Bormann. Robert Ley was a Reichsinspekteur, and Hermann Goering was the only Reichsmarschall.

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  22. Hey Arthur, you better get that Obama book to press soon. If you don't, it's not going to be worth much no matter how well you write. Hee Hee...you gotta love it.

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  23. Hey Daddy!

    That's my daddy there, the guy who looks like Barney Frank. I'm so proud of him because he's the biggest nitwit of all. That's not his whole name though. His whole name is Bucky Knothead.

    And see, I told you there were a bunch of Reichs. In fact they called the whole thing the Third Reich.

    I know who the Lay guy was, but you spelled his name wrong. He was some kind of crook and was supposed to go to jail but he died first. I think he was making bad potato chips or something.

    Anon, Jr.

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  24. Good afternoon folks! Hope y'all's day is going better than mine.
    LTE 1 & 3: Baptist has put itself into a rather bad pr spot. There are times when even if you are correct from a technical or legal viewpoint, you still should stand down if it could result in a lot of bad publicity.
    LTE 2: Must admit I find this LTE quite confusing. Some posters who admit to favoring the R's have reminded us on many occasions how "47% do not pay taxes" and "the top 10% pay over 70% of all taxes" (or whatever the percentages are), yet here's Mr. Reiss, who prefers the R's as well saying it's the middle class who bears the brunt of the tax burden. There is then this very bizarre 4th paragraph where he lays the blame on poor people for having "cellphones, cigarettes and tattoos" instead of doing community gardening. Anyway, if you're looking for any party to "protect me from giving away every little amount of money I have", you're looking in the wrong direction.
    LTE 4: The ideal has always been what's stated in the last sentence: "equal justice for all". Unfortunately, that has never been the case and never will be. There will always be people with "friends in high places" and loads of money and likewise there will be those with no money or the wrong skin color, accent, nationality or whatever. The only way to truly have equal justice for all is to somehow automate the process so that it's not in human hands.

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  25. Anonymous....sounds like you and Rush/Kitty Kat should be making babies together, because who in the world knows what you're talking about...I'll just add you to the nit wit club. It's getting rather large, but I think I can fit you in.

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  26. Don't forget about Rekonyour Reich

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  27. OT, your all too evanescent post was funny.

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  28. Yes, I remember him. Only problem was, he was wrong.

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  29. What post? I just posted about Rekonyour Reich and misspelled a word, so reposted it.

    Shhhh!

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  30. Rush/Kitty Kat...I figured you'd know how to spell nitwit, nitwit. That's what we've got you in here for. What an idiot.

    P.S. I call you an idiot every chance I get.

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  31. Thanks Daddy. I like being in clubs.

    But you spelled nitwit wrong. Mr. Nitwit says it is one word, like this: "nitwit". I'm sure he knows. Isn't he the head nitwit around here?

    What are we having for dinner tonight? Can we go to that place and hang out in the bathroom?

    Anon, Jr.

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  32. Anonymous...you can go have salads over at the local public bathroom if you want, but I won't be there. Not my style....

    When are you and Rush/Breeding? That oughta be an accomplishment.

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  33. Sounds like Anonymous and Rush are going to have a rodeo tonight!

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  34. Oh Daddy, Mommy said it is a sin to lie and you just did it. How many times have you taken me to that same bathroom where the bucks are? I like their tatoos. I hope you don't go to the bad place for telling a lie.

    Anon, Jr.

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  35. Anonymous...you're an amateur. I'm glad I threw you over into the Nitwit Club. I guess nitwit should be capitalized in that situation. Hee Hee...

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  36. I'm so proud of my Daddy because he's so smart. When we were in that bathroom I asked him what those things that the bucks had were called and he told me antlers. I bet none of you smart guys knew that.

    Anon, Jr.

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  37. That is correct, Junior. I am indeed the Head Nitwit, and don' ch'all fergit it! (Show your age: who am I quoting here?).

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  38. Anonymous...are you one of thos gay bucks that bang in public bathrooms? If you are, you should be ashamed of yourself. There's little children that use those bathrooms.

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  39. Daddy, I know. You're the one who took me in there. I just looked up "antlers" and I'm not sure that you are telling me the truth. They didn't look like the pictures of antlers at Antlers.com

    I guess since now everybody knows that you're my daddy, I don't have to sign myself Anon anymore.

    Knothead, Jr.

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  40. Wake Forest University political science professor John Dinan says the Legislature's decision to place a referendum on a same-sex marriage ban on the same day as the primary will bring out people who don't otherwise vote in primary races.

    _____________

    Nobody is running against Obama, so guess who all will show up?

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  41. Anonymous...you're getting like dotnet. And you know how dotnet writes. Hee Hee...you gotta love it.

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  42. Daddy, thanks again for letting me be in that club. It's a really cool club. Mr. Nitwit is in it, and Mr. WW, and Bob and Arthur, even Bo, in fact, everybody but you. But they all say that you are the Founding Father, just like you're mine.

    Daddy, I just noticed that you called that rush nitwit an idiot. I looked that up and it said that an idiot has the lowest IQ of all.

    I like it when you argue with rush/nitwit. I always look up all the things that you argue about and he is always right and you are always wrong.

    So if he is an idiot, what are you? Does it mean that you have a minus IQ? What is that called? Sub-idiot?

    Knothead, Jr.

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  43. Poor Anonymous....are you mad because I threw into the same club as Rush/Kitty Kat? You'll get over it.

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  44. Yes Daddy, Mr. dotnet is in the club too and I know how he writes. He's a really good writer. And when you argue with him he's always right and you're always wrong, just like when you argue with that rush/nitwit/idiot.

    Knothead, Jr.

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  45. Anonymous...you made a good point about the Thou shall not 'kill' commandment, from the Ten Commandments. What happened to you? Did you hit your head or something?

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  46. Anonymous.....at least I'm not in the Nitwit Club. Stab is in charge of the Nitwit Club, maybe he'll let you out. Hee Hee you gotta love it.

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  47. That was a different anonymous, not Senor Buckwheat's son, who made the comment about the Ten Commandments. He, or she (Deb?), unlike Knothead, Jr., does not have the courage to identify himself or herself in any way. Just a voice in the wind.

    They were arguing about the translated term "thou shalt not kill", blissfully unaware that the phrase also occurs in several other places in the OT.

    The reason that the fumblementalists want to challenge the translation is so that they can continue to pursue their barbaric support of capital punishment. Since they ignore much else in the OT, I don't see why they worry so much about this one.

    The truth is that people like anonymous/Deb/whoever have a woeful knowledge of the Bible in general, having been indoctrinated rather than actually learning. Learning requires questioning, then accepting or rejecting. They simply parrot what they have been told. In this case, ignorance is truly bliss.

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  48. I see by taking part of the afternoon off for a long walk I missed a fascinating exchange between Senor Buckwheat and his son.

    It would appear that Knothead, Jr. has his father's number better than anyone else does. And I was happy to learn from him who else was a member of the Nitwit Club.

    Considering the distinguished list of names, I count myself proud to be a charter member. There was a glaring omission though...I think from the exchanges that I have read between Buckwheat and her that Sharon is probably a member as well. Perhaps Junior has not met her yet.

    We need a club cheer, perhaps:

    Two bits, four bits, Nitwits, good beer,
    All for the Nitwits stand up and cheer!

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  49. Two bits, four bits, chug down a beer,
    All for Bucky, stand tall and leer!

    By the power vested in me as Wizard of . . . oops! Head Nitwit, I hereby induct Sharon into our Club, whether she wants to be or not.

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  50. She will be a beauty among the beasts. Also, she will have to slow down long enough to join.

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  51. If we can get her to attend meetings, I'm sure that the conduct of other members will be much more civilized.

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  52. WW, good observations re Sharon.

    We have other fine women who also observe and comment, so we might consider a bit more civilization, don't want to scare 'em off.

    I'm going to depart for a few minutes. I feel a need to find Anon Junior and counsel him. He needs to understand that patricide is disrepectful, breaks a Commandment.

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  53. "Honor thy father..."

    Must be pretty tough going for Junior.

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  54. No doubt, since his dad drags him from one public can to another.

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