Defending 'Lio'
Well, I thought my days of defending the "Lio" comic strip were over. Apparently not.
A letter writer in the Jan. 10 Journal ("Makes sense") urges you: "If you want to save money, why don't you delete Lio and some other equally stupid comic strips?" May I please defend "Lio" and other strips by saying to the writer: If you don't understand or get the humor in these strips, please let those who do continue to enjoy them. Thanks!
DENIS JACKSON
Pfafftown
Sense in compensation
I hope that the legislature will exercise some sense when it decides on the amount of money awarded to each person involved in the sterilization program that ceased in 1974 ("$50,000 urged for each victim," Jan. 11). A one-time cash payment is not the way to go.
It has been reported that citizens as young as 13 were involved, so the youngest survivors should be at least 50 years of age now. I would suggest that the payments authorized should be medical/health-care vouchers or some type of interest-bearing account that would give the survivors annual interest payments. If not, I imagine the Journal headlines shortly after payment will read, "Many recipients lose benefits to unscrupulous people."
These people suffered enough; let's protect what they receive.
TOM D. JONES
Winston-Salem
Serious consequences
Bullying should not be considered an acceptable childhood "rite of passage," and children do not simply "grow out of it." Bullying can have serious consequences, including suicide. The National Education Association estimates that 160,000 school children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students.
The following are a few signs that a child may be the victim of a bully: mood swings; avoiding eye contact with others; frequent complaints of feeling sick; not wanting to go to school or attend certain classes; talk of running away; threatening to hurt themselves or others.
If a child displays any of these warning signs, talk with the child. Mental Health America suggests making sure the child understands that being bullied is not his or her fault; children should know that they do not have to face the situation alone; parents can speak to principals at their children's schools to ensure their safety; they can seek counseling for their children, if appropriate.
The Mental Health Association in Forsyth County is a valuable community resource for parents seeking guidance on how to handle a bullying problem. The association will refer families to appropriate local mental-health providers.
Bullying is a serious emotional concern and we must help victimized children. Take time to help address this problem; you may save a life.
DAVID PATTERSON
MEMBER, MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION
IN FORSYTH COUNTY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Winston-Salem
Correspondent of the Week: Lauren Kent
Your precious vote
As the caucuses and primaries move to South Carolina, I am constantly reminded of my limited voting rights. As an older high-school junior, I will be eligible to vote in the next general election. However, at the age of 17, I can vote only for items in the primary that will be on the ballot in November as well.
The notion that turning 18 will suddenly illuminate my knowledge of politics is ridiculous. Every student in North Carolina has studied American history in eighth grade, civics in 10th grade, and even more advanced U.S. history in 11th grade. We have been told that voting is both our civic duty and a rite of passage that we are not privileged to have yet because of our supposed lack of understanding. Then every election year, concerned students sit by as we hear stories of uninformed citizens voting simply by party line, for arbitrary candidates, or not voting at all.
This year, I consider myself fortunate to have any say at all, especially when many of my friends have to wait years for another chance to vote because their birthdays will miss the election date by a few months. So please, those who have the right to vote should not take it for granted. They should feel an obligation to educate themselves on the candidates and issues, because although many students in our area have done our political homework, we never get to take the test.
LAUREN KENT
Winston-Salem
Sum It Up
Do you think the state legislature should approve in their session beginning in May $50,000 for each living victim of the North Carolina's forced sterilization program?
Respond to letters@wsjournal.com and put "Sum It Up" in the subject header. Only signed entries, please, no anonymous ones. Briefer responses receive preference in print.
Yesterday, Knothead spent the day talking to himself, which means that there were a number of unchallenged idiotic comments. My favorite is the one about dead people voting in New Hampshire.
ReplyDeleteThat was a nice frat boy stunt. Unlike most people my age, I actually like frat boy stunts. Considering the atmosphere in which I grew up, wherein college age folks got deeply involved in local and national events as compared to the apathy of most young Americans today, I applaud almost any creative action taken by our college youth. I actually participated in such activities myself in the ancient past, both pranks, which got the old folks pissed off, and serious stuff, which also got the old folks pissed off, as in the Civil Rights movement, which gave black people a fighting chance in life, and the anti-war movement, which finally stopped the tidal wave of military and civilian deaths in Viet Nam.
But in this case, that's all it was, a frat boy stunt. The frat boys who pulled it off actually knew how things work. But the fools who got enraged about it did not, so showed their usual ignorance of nearly everything.
All voting jurisdictions are well aware that people die, and that the last thing on anyone's mind at that point is canceling their voter registration. So they all have a process to to monitor local death records and deregister dead people. Most systems delete dead people within 24 hours of death. The worst may take 72 hours. Either way, it doesn't really matter.
The frat boys in New Hampshire grabbed their names from local death notices in the morning papers on election day, knowing that the local election board had not had time to delete them. So, technically, they could all have been charged with election fraud, even though they finally refused the ballots. But that isn't the real point. The real point is that the phony dead people votes could have swayed an election.
Could they? Not really. The daily death rate in the US is 0.00002%. That includes everybody. Since barely 50% of US citizens are registered to vote, that means that the daily death rate for registered voters is barely 0.00001%. So even in a slack voting district which took 30 days to delete dead people from the voting rolls, the maximum number of dead people being available for voting fraud would be 0.00031. Has there ever been an election in the USA which could have been affected by dead people voting? Of course not. See part 2 of this post.
There have been 7 tie votes in province level elections in Canada since 1886. There has never been a tie vote in the USA at that level.
ReplyDeleteThe closest ever vote in the US was the 1974 New Hampshire Senatorial election, which was won by Louis Wyman over John A. Durkin by 2 votes out of 223.363 cast (0.00090%) after several recounts. The US Senate decided that that was too close to call, so ordered, quite properly, a second election, which Durkin won without a recount being required.
The fifth closest US election just occurred a few days ago, when Mitt Romney defeated Rick Santorum in the Iowa Republican primary caucus by 8 votes out of 122,255 (0.00654%).
The sixth closest was the Texas Senatorial Democratic primary runoff in 1948, in which Lyndon Johnson was declared the winner over Coke Stevenson by 87 votes out of 988,295 (0.00880%). Johnson won despite 200 "mystery" votes that were never explained. Just think…if Johnson had not won that primary, he probably would have never become POTUS, which means that there is a good chance that we never would have gotten involved in the Vietnamese conflict, which would have changed everybody's history for sure.
The Florida presidential election in 2000 was the seventh closest election in US history. The margin was 537 votes out of 5,962,657 (0.00901%). George W. Bush was eventually declared the winner of Florida's electoral vote after the legally required recount was halted by the US Supreme Court, so Bush won by a 5-4 vote of people who did not reside in Florida. Not handled nearly as well as the 1974 New Hampshire vote.
The point is that even in the most closely contested election in US history, the phony votes of dead people could not have affected the outcome. As I have said before, stupid is as stupid does.
Nice little dissertation 'Frankie Avalon'...however, there are no reliable statistics on how many people are voting illegally in the U.S., so we have no idea if the people that vote in such a manner, changed, would have, or are going to change elections.
ReplyDeleteThe above is just a good example of how liberals think that if they spew enough nonsensical, non-tangential data, they can obscure the real facts.
________________________
Better get back to Forsyth Tech and get some refresher courses Frankie. Your dabate skills are falling off. Hee Hee...you gotta love it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteRielle, I'm sure you've seen these 'sign-up' tables at malls and shopping centers where they solicit Hispanics to sign up to vote. I know I have. If you have, have you ever heard them ask if the person is/was a citizen of the U.S.? I know I haven't.
DeleteThey are all along the border states, and they are probably in N.C. too. I just haven't seen and/or heard of them doing it here.
So, yes, based on my personal observations, I'd say there are thousands and thousands of people who vote illegally in every national election.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHag, I guess you don't get out much. That's fairly obvious by your lack of any level of intellect.
DeleteSeen Johnny lately? I'm sure it's about time for you to pick-up your maintainence check.
Don't worry Hag. They aren't going to boot you for being nasty. They know how you are. You can't help yourself, it's a liberal disease.
DeleteSlopBucket: If "there are no reliable statistics on how many people are voting illegally in the U.S." as you state, why do you Repugnicans continue to jump up and down about voter fraud?
DeleteI know it's not for the health of it, 'cause you run 5 miles a day.
There are no reliable statistics. I'm making my own conjectures based on my personal observations. The reason there are no reliable data is because no real and complete investigation has ever been conducted on voter fraud. Sure a few jurisdictions go after the little fish like 'ACORN' and some others, but no real comprehensive investigation has ever been done.
DeleteJust because verified figures don't exist, doesn't mean the problem isn't present. It's apples and oranges to you simpletons.
Speaking of five miles, I've got to get going. Please be nice. I know that's not completely possible, but give it a try.
DeleteStats are out there. The fact of the matter is that the accusations keep surfacing, just as with the birthers, because idiots will try to find something, ANYTHING, to cry fowl. NO, just to CRY!!!
DeleteThis is just another HATER Republican smokescreen.
Now.....now....., anybody with half a brain knows that paperless Hispanics are involved in all kinds of fraud, and illegal identity theft. You must be one of those gringo Hispanics? Never lived in the homeland? I carry around a fifth of liquor with me south of the border, all of the time in case I've got to get a favor. Comprende, mujer? Corruption is just part of the culture, gringa! Where are you from C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A? Hee hee...
DeleteTrue. The fact is the demographics of the country are changing, and a lot of folks on the right are scared by that. And GOPers who want to suppress the Democratic vote play on that racist fear to push the voter fraud canard. Also, they support asinine immigration laws a la AL and AZ.
DeleteThey might help themselves in the short-term, but they're totally shooting themselves in the foot long-term. They're just alienating the youth and Latino voters for a very long time to come. Once political opinions are set, they're very slow to change.
Besides, immigration is an added value to this country...it gives us a younger, growing workforce and provides a new pool of brain power. You can't tell them that though; they only see a threat. But never underestimate the power of the rightist limbic brain.
Great discussion point, Arthur but Bucky isn't trying to have a discussion. With his previous statement . . .
Delete" . . . You must be one of those gringo Hispanics? Never lived in the homeland? I carry around a fifth of liquor with me south of the border, all of the time in case I've got to get a favor. Comprende, mujer? Corruption is just part of the culture, gringa! Where are you from C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A? Hee hee... "
. . . it's clearly evident that he's seething with so much HATRED that has a need to lash out at someone, namely ME.
He's not used to anyone, especially females, challenging what he says or does.
If I was a forensic psychologist, I'd say he exhibits classic behavior of a neurotic sociopath.
But I'm not, so I'll just say he's talking in stereo.
Talking in stereo: A Republican talking out of both sides of his mouth.
. . . and by "Bucky" I mean Tim Britton.
DeleteYou never can come in here and not make fool out of yourself, can you Rielle? When's Johnny coming over with the check from Bunny Melon? Or has she gotten wise to Johnny's little tricks?
DeleteSelf-loathing Latino Republicans. Kind of like gay Republicans...it's like quantum physics. I don't get it.
DeleteThe Roman Catholic Church opposes all forms of abortion procedures whose direct purpose is to destroy an embryo, blastocyst, zygote or fetus, since it holds that "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.
Delete__________
Got any idea how many Hispanics are Catholics? Also, Republicans generally oppose abortion. Now, 2+2=Hispanic Republican. Very good Arthur! You're learning.
Who's hating who, Tim?
DeleteSo Latino Catholics (I know a few who go to Pentecostal churches) are all single issue voters on abortion, and don't pay attention to Alabama, Arizona, and all of the GOP's race baiting?
DeleteMmmkay...let's make this interesting. I'll bet you $1,000 that Obama will carry the Hispanic vote this year. Heck, make it 100 large.
The main reason Hispanics are voting for Obama is they think he's going to give them amnesty Arthur. They're even smart enough to know he's been a lousy president.
DeleteThat's why I say there are thousands of illegals that are voting illegally. They want amnesty, they don't care about no stinkin laws.
Come out from behind the curtain Bobby!
DeleteSo all Americans of Spanish descent are here illegally?
DeleteYou'd best start packing your bags muchacho. And proof of voter fraud, please.
Like a self-hating Jew.
DeleteLaSombra, I'm not a forensic psychologist either, but having spent much of my life working in that field, I would nudge the diagnosis toward a slightly different personality disorder, namely:
DeleteThe symptoms of Narcissistic personality disorder can be similar to the traits of individuals with strong self-esteem and confidence.
Differentiation occurs when the underlying psychological structures of these traits are considered pathological.
Narcissists have such an elevated sense of self-worth that they value themselves as inherently better than others. Yet, they have a fragile self-esteem and cannot handle criticism, and will often try to compensate for this inner fragility by belittling or disparaging others in an attempt to validate their own self-worth.
It is this sadistic tendency that is characteristic of narcissism as opposed to other psychological conditions affecting level of self-worth.
As with other personality disorders, there is no known effective treatment.
I might add that in recent years, psychiatric professionals have begun to recognize that those suffering from personality disorders may well also be suffering from any variety of psychosis, such as paranoia.
DeleteThe little temper tantrum below, in which the patient imagines that "someone" (in this case "some liberal at the Journal or in here") is trying to "boot (him) off", is a classic example. It has been a repeating theme in his rants all along, as evidenced in his assertion that your and Bob's detective work is an attempt to shut him up.
I've got your narcissism right here Frankie! Isn't it about time for you to start waxing your surf board Frankie? Those two foot high waves in La Jolla are waiting for you. Hee Hee....so many liberals, too little time!
DeletePerfect example of what I just said.
DeleteMan-O-man....I think my Pac-Man just ate 'Pokey'. Gettie-up-little-doggy!
DeleteRush:
DeleteIMO it sounds like Tim's going off the deep end, lashing out at poor Bob. Bob's not even been here today. Do you suppose he's now hallucinating?
Where IS Bobby? I need a word with him!
Deleteha, ha. Tim/Bucky/Knothead/LG/Anonymous has been off the deep end for a long time.
DeleteMaybe he ought to try dropping a tab of LSD. Since he is living full time in a fantasy world, maybe LSD would have the reverse of its usual effect and yank him back into reality.
The above is NOT a prescription issued by a licensed physician.
lmbfao!
DeleteThey say that dead men tell no tales...but they do occasionally win elections. Not the first time this has happened:
ReplyDeleteHenry Roesler Jr., Dead Michigan Mayor, Gains More Votes Than Opponent
11/ 9/11 11:12 AM ET
MONTAGUE, Mich. -- More voters cast ballots for the longtime mayor of a West Michigan city who died a week before the election than for his challenger.
The 84-year-old Roesler died Nov. 1, following a battle with cancer. He had been seeking his 11th consecutive term as mayor.
City officials last week checked state law following Roesler's death and determined that any votes cast for Roesler wouldn't count.
Erb previously ran unsuccessfully against Roesler in the 2009 mayoral race.
This joint was dead yesterday; people must goof off at the office on this site during the week.
ReplyDeletedotnet is one of the main culprits too.
DeleteLTE #1: I don't read the Journal comics. The shenanigans of the GOP presidential hopefuls provide all the laughs I need.
ReplyDeleteLTE #2: A good point. Thousands of lottery winners have proven that a sudden infusion of cash can disappear in a flash.
LTE #3: Correct. The victims don't necessarily grow out of it, nor do the bullies. Ask the folks who grew up with Gerald Hege down in Davidson County.
Your precious vote: Good points. It is shameful how ignorant many voters are. Locally, we have elected officials from both parties who do a good job. And we have some from both parties who do not. Anyone who votes a straight party ticket is a fool.
Maybe we should bring back the old "literacy" tests, which were designed to skirt the 14th Amendment and deny voting rights to blacks, Latinos, American Indians and other minorities. It shouldn't be too hard to devise a test to eliminate idiots.
Nah, I don't think so. Our system, which isn't flawless, has done pretty well for over 200 years and doesn't need fixing. The first poll worker who asks me for a picture ID will find their name on a court document right next to the local and state election boards.
We've got corruption out the ying yang, but the Democrats don't want laws to correct it. That should tell you something.
ReplyDeleteInstead of anonymous bullshit, let's see some proof.
DeleteI've got your proof right here Frankie!
DeleteShow it then. Or is it too small and weak?
DeleteI'd say small and weak, 'cept I really don't wanna know.
DeleteFair enough.
DeleteI like that: "Too small and weak."
DeleteMy best friend has a friend who is a homicide detective. One of his favorite sayings, based on decades of experience, is "The bigger the gun, the smaller the d... (well, you know what I mean)."
We HAVE had one longish episode of dead voters in NC.
ReplyDeleteMarshall is the seat of Madison County, NC, on the Tennessee border northwest of Asheville. From its founding in the mid-19th century, it was ruled by the Republican party for 100 years by the simple expedient of having every Republican who had ever lived in the county, some who had died before the War of 1812, vote in every election.
An ambitious young man named Zeno Ponder figured that there were probably more dead Democrats in the county than Republicans, so he initiated a get out the vote campaign in the graveyards and in 1950 his brother, E.Y. Ponder, won the election for sheriff.
The incumbent didn't think it was fair that dead Democrats could vote too, so he refused to surrender his offices in the courthouse. In fact, he barricaded the entrance and mounted a machine gun to let the Ponders know that he meant business.
But the Ponders outflanked him and took over the county jail, which is the real seat of power in the sheriff world. They would rule Madison County for almost four decades. During his 32 years as sheriff, E.Y. never carried a gun, wore a uniform or drove a marked car.
Eventually, some spoilsport complained to the State Board of Elections. They sent SBI agents to Madison County and the place got cleaned up.
Today, the dead in Madison County, Democrats, Republicans and even a few Whigs and Dixiecrats, genuinely rest in peace. But the chair of the county board of commissioners, and former alderman and mayor of Hot Springs, is a woman named Debbie Ponder.
I don't think Schatzman has ever wore a uniform, drove a marked car, or could find his gun. So, Forsyth County isn't a whole lot different.
DeleteAs your English teacher at Forsyth Tech would be happy to point out, that should be "I don't think that Schatzman has ever worn a uniform, driven a marked car, or has been able to find his gun."
DeleteSince the entire sentence is poorly framed, she probably would just write "Syntax" and "Restate".
As to the second sentence, since the main idea of the previous comment has to do with a true story about dead people voting, she would likely flag that second sentence as "Irrelevant".
Hey Frankie, if you typing you're probably expressing something irrelevant, so I would get on a high horse, okay?
DeleteYet another perfect example.
DeleteNote that the patient never actually addresses the content of anyone else's comment, just goes right to the disparagement routine.
That is because he is not capable of framing a real argument under the rules of logic.
Hey Frankie, don't you have a surf board to ride or something?
DeleteFrankie, I may be nuttier than a pecan pie, but at least I didn't vote for Obama, like you did. Okay?
DeleteI always get a kick out these liberals talking the mental problems of others. Is the pot black? Yes the pot is black...Jeez!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBucky...you're looking GOOD!
ReplyDeleteMan, I guess some liberal at the Journal or in here maybe, tried to boot me off. What's up with THAT? I had to come back in so you people wouldn't miss me too much. Hee Hee..you gotta love it!
ReplyDeleteGot myself a new hat while I was out. What doyathink?
Rushy....a/k/a...Frankie Avalon...with your use of language above. I'll bet they'll be coming for you next. And who could blame them?
ReplyDeleteWhere did all the chatter boxes go?
ReplyDeletePoof....the little symbol is gone. I'd bet old Bobby is involved with these little shennanigans, if I were a betting man.
ReplyDeleteI like my hat. Purple is a beautiful color for Sundays.
ReplyDeleteOkay Bobby, come out from behind the curtain. You've had your fun.
ReplyDelete"And I hope that the Tea Party doesn't have the influence in this next year that they had in the previous year," Reid said.
ReplyDeleteSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid
I'll bet not. If they do, the Democrats will be sent packing. And rightfully so!
We're having a little party here. One of the women, who is a natural born statistician (Bowman Gray School of Medicine), was looking at the comments on this site and noted that of the 68 total comments, some fool called Bucky/Anonymous had made 36 of them (53%), many of which were just talking to himself. Of course, yesterday, he made 100% of the comments, all talking to himself. And in the recent past, his numbers have hovered in the 60-80% range.
ReplyDeleteNeed any more proof of narcissistic personality disorder?
It doesn't take a statistician to be able to count the number of posts a person makes. I hope she's reading the content of my posts, and not just glossing over them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you'll notice, apparently you don't read too well, that I was not 'talking' to myself yesterday.
Who's the fool, now, fool?