A long moment
In regard to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to decline to hear Forsyth County's appeal of a lower-court ruling against sectarian prayer, would Jesus have a moment of silence toward Forsyth County? If so, it could be a long moment.
Wise men seek him, not turn from him. We need his wisdom, his love and his help. Soon, everyknee shall bow.
LARRY W. BRANCH
West Jefferson
Unsafe
The Jan. 18 article "Abortion rate linked to law" repeatedly refers to "unsafe abortions." In fact, the article quotes a World Health Organization researcher who said, "An abortion is actually a very simple and safe procedure."
An elective abortion may be "safe" for the expectant mother, but it is devastating for the baby.
TOM VOIGNIER
Clemmons
Blurring the line
In the Jan. 9 Leonard Pitts column, "Foolish consistency or just foolishness?" he shows that he misunderstands the concept of "Jim Crow" because he insists on blurring the line between the voluntary sector and the coercive sector. The same flaw in his thinking leads him to support the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that restricted the choices of restaurant owners.
"Jim Crow" consisted of racial discrimination in endeavors upon which government held a monopoly or a virtual monopoly: schools, courts, elections, for example. Exclusion of blacks from privately owned restaurants constitutes "Jim Crow" only if government mandates the exclusion. And in the benighted world Leonard Pitts recalls, whether openly or surreptitiously, government mandated the exclusion.
Government should neither mandate nor forbid exclusion. Restore to restaurant owners the freedom to select their clientele. Let the Invisible Hand exact its merciless penalty for prejudice.
A "Whites Only" sign creates a business opportunity for restaurant owners whose signs say, "Everybody Welcome." But the market cannot reward inclusiveness if inclusiveness is compelled. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects bigots from competition.
BARNEY W. HILL
Thomasville
The right course
The Jan. 28 letter "Moral high ground," as well as some political pundits and former presidential candidate Rick Perry, have accused the Obama administration of abandoning the Marines involved in the recent corpse-desecration incident in Afghanistan ("Video called 'deplorable,' " Jan. 13).
When I was a soldier in Iraq, I always knew my commanders "had my back" if, in the fog of war, I or my soldiers had made a mistake while defending ourselves. If we had inflicted tragic collateral damage as a result of the uncertainty and chaos of combat, I knew my commanders rightly would have defended me.
This incident was not such a case. The action of which these Marines are accused is a heinous, premeditated war crime and should be dealt with as such. The administration is taking the right course by reaffirming America's commitment to our high ideals and prosecuting the alleged perpetrators of a war crime. Allowing the desecration of enemy combatants' bodies to go unpunished would be a disgrace to all who have worn this country's uniform with honor.
HEATH ALEXANDER
Winston-Salem
The president's call
The Keystone XL Pipeline deal is not dead, despite hysterical claims to the contrary. TransCanada is already planning a reroute of the line that will not go through sensitive areas such as the Sandhills in Nebraska, where local residents and land owners were concerned about its impact on their health and the environment.
Speaking of his rejection of the offered plan, President Obama said, "This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people."
Despite knee-jerk right-wing reactions, the president is right. The fact is that Republican legislators gave him 60 days to make a decision on whether to approve the plan. He had to agree to that as part of the deal to maintain the middle-class tax cut that the Republicans opposed.
Considering the criticism the president knew he would face — right-wingers criticize him for pretty much anything he does and would have found something to criticize him for had he agreed to the deal — it was a brave call.
JANE SIMMONS
Winston-Salem
Honoring a Life
Kudos to the Journal for the Jan. 19 feature " 'Just a sweetheart,' " recognizing Sheila Scott. How refreshing to see such a "good news" story take front and center.
Lisa O'Donnell did an exceptional job capturing not only the story of Sheila's 50 years at Lamberti's Salon and Day Spa, but of a life that "has more to do with compassion and humility than conditioning and highlights."
JOYCE WHITE
Lexington
The Navy got another one right:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/africa/view.bg?articleid=1398606&srvc=rss
These guys are good!!!!
Those guys are not like us, are probably the finest fighters in the world.
DeleteIn "Black Hawk Down," author Mark Bowden told of a Delta operator who took over a Humvee after its driver was killed or wounded. He drove the vehicle with one hand while firing his rifle with the other. According to passengers, his one-handed firing dropped one Somali gunman after another.
I suspect many a terrorist looks over his shoulder frequently, for phantom killers who don't miss.
"Wise" men seek him, not turn from him. We need his wisdom, his love and his help. Soon, everyknee shall bow.
ReplyDeleteWise men indeed to waste $200,000.00 of tax payer money on frivolous litigation. They should have spent more time on their knees and less time upright propagating their brand of "pious baloney".
Indeed.
ReplyDeleteIn deed, as in: ". . . Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." (James 2:17-19)
Yes, James is very much in favor of faith through works. I subscribe to that, though most of my works are confined to my various families. As time passes, I hope to be able to get back to Habitat and to Samaritan Ministry. And to run for school board.
DeleteHere in the United States if a person has to defend their faith, their faith should first be questioned.
ReplyDeleteDotNet:
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: "...would Jesus have a moment of silence toward Forsyth County?" Considering Jesus thought prayer was something that should be done in private rather than as some public show of piety, it seems to me Jesus would have approved the SC's decision. From a legal point of view, the denial was a given.
LTE 2: Abortion
LTE 3: Hmm...sounds a bit like erstwhile poster JohnG. So, the right of a business to discriminate based on race should supercede the basic civil rights of individuals. Gosh, why don't we simply do away with the Constitution all together and let the businesses of this country determine our rights for us. Since they already have the politicians in their pockets, we aren't that far from that scenario as it is.
LTE 4: "Allowing the desecration of enemy combatants' bodies to go unpunished would be a disgrace to all who have worn this country's uniform with honor." Thank you for your service and most excellent response.
LTE 5: Someone actually read the article and is responding based on the actual facts of the matter instead of propaganda! Let's just hope the final decision on whether to proceed will be made based on a thorough analysis of the impact both financially and environmentally rather than an ideological knee jerk reaction.
LTE 6: It was a nice story. Hard to imagine being employed by the same business for 50 years.
Here's some uh...entertainment for you: James Canupp. A truly astonishing performance.
'Asked by CNN's Piers Morgan what he would do if his own daughter approached him, begging for an abortion after having been raped, Santorum explained that he would counsel her to "accept this horribly created" baby, because it was still a gift from God, even if given in a "broken" way.'
ReplyDeleteIf we hadn't already seen the parade of other clowns, it would be difficult to imagine that such a fool is actually running for President of the United States.
35% of R's polled would like to see someone else in the contest. So would I .
DeleteWhat's scary is that the number isn't 99%.
DeleteActually, the number is really about 75%. Romney has polled around 25%, with one challenger after another arising to that level and then fading. They and the trailing candidates are all just None of the Above.
DeleteDown time at the office has allowed me to read the printed version of our local liberal rag, the Winston-Salem Journal.
ReplyDeleteDateline: Winston-Salem, NC “Pledge policy back on table”
It seems our local school board, who just last December had balked at changing the Pledge of Allegiance policy to allow students to opt out at will instead of having to cite a religious reason for opting out, at first didn’t even consider the fact that the school system’s antiquated policy is not in line with state law.
OMG, why is this even an issue?
It is an issue because the board is staffed with a majority of posing idiots. Such pointless posing is one of several reasons for my leaving the Republican Party.
DeleteWhy is it an issue? Because there is a small but loud mouthed group of fascists who want to force you to be just like them.
ReplyDeleteThey want you to pledge like them, pray like them, vote like them, look like them, walk like them, talk like them, act like them, think like them.
And most of all, they want you to be dumb like them.
As Jim and Tammy used to say...Praise The Lord!
Good evening, folks!
ReplyDelete"Why is it an issue? Because there is a small but loud mouthed group of fascists who want to force you to be just like them."
Indeed, both right and left. You know, like goons who want to compel Solidarity via enforced membership, hmmmm?
Hi cuz...I thought that obsession was the name of a perfume, not to mention a terrific novel by A.S. Byatt.
DeleteIf I say "I like lemon meringue pie", Stab is going to say "As long as it isn't union made."
Agree that there are posing idiots on both sides...in fact, I've considered starting a business that would teach posing, but dropped the idea because it would fail miserably. They all seem to come by it naturally.
Hi Cuz! Laughing and drinking non-union beer as I reply. But, I maintain that the attempts at lockstep, goodthinking coercion are the same, nevermind the politics.
DeleteBTW, I believe that freedom of religion also means freedom from religion if that's what an individual wants. I don't understand why commissioners don't see that.
Interesting to me, I was reading a book by Bill Bryson last night in which he noted that the Puritans who settled in NE did not come to America for religious freedom, but to establish their own religious tyranny here, free from interference from the Church of England.
Oops...Inbev, which owns both Stella and Anheuser-Busch, is a heavily unionized company. In fact, they have made headlines in Europe with their war on unions, which has, so far, been only moderately successful.
DeleteOn the other hand, we share something more than a cousinly blood-line. Bill Bryson is near the top of my list of favorite writers. He has a knack for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary when it comes to telling a story.
As to the Puritans, their story, as told in US public school textbooks, is a farce. Every time I see a romantic reference to that "First Thanksgiving" I want to throw up, knowing as I do what they later did to those same Indians, not to mention my Quaker ancestors.
Leftover from yesterday (I think): the pipeline.
ReplyDeleteOT, I know leaks are a concern, but they seem to be an infrequent occurrence with pipelines everywhere. I don't recall that the Alaska pipeline has wrought ecological disaster, in spite of rabid greeny screams that every caribou between Barrow and Anchorage would be imperiled. As I understand it, the beasts like the thing because it is relatively warm.
Also, I'm not sure how a spill in one place would imperil the Oglala aquifer, but I sit to be instructed.
Just a handful of recent reports…there are hundreds more. Maybe ought to take a break from your "focus" and examine what's happening with big oil.
ReplyDeletePipeline leaks NGL into Missouri River in Iowa
Aug 15, 2011 – NEW YORK (Reuters) - A leak in a natural gas liquids pipeline operated by Enterprise Products Partners spilled fuel into the Missouri River in ...
Exxon Pipeline Leaks 1000 Barrels of Oil into Yellowstone River ...
www.forbes.com/.../exxon-pipeline-leaks-1000-barrels-of-oil-into-...
Jul 3, 2011 – A pipeline operated by Exxon Mobil has spilled a massive amount of crude oil into the Yellowstone River near Billings, Montana.
BP reports new pipeline leak at Lisburne oilfield in Alaska ...
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/.../bp-pipeline-leak-lisburne-alask...
Jul 18, 2011 – Latest leak is likely to do nothing to mend oil giant's reputation in US after 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Enbridge subsidiaries reported 175 pipeline leaks in U.S. since 2002...
www.vancouversun.com/technology/...pipeline+leaks.../story.html
Jan 12, 2012 – The reports detail minor incidents, with only a few gallons lost, and major accidents, including the 2007 leak from an Enbridge pipeline in ...
U.S.-Canada Keystone pipeline leaks, fuels outrage
content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/...pipeline.../1
Jun 7, 2011 – A 1661-mile extension of a U.S.-Canadian pipeline carrying a controversial form of heavy crude oil is facing intensifying opposition and public ...
This one required the entire pipeline to be shut down for a week.
Points taken, but I still don't see an aquifer-threatening event there. That said, I will retract and agree that more time should be allowed for impact considerations. And if Obama is reelected, fear not: he will not approve it.
ReplyDeleteOk, try this:
ReplyDelete5 points...Yellowstone leak
And this, which is linked there:
List of pipeline leaks
As pointed out, cleanup techniques in the US are 40 years out of date. And the oil companies tend to lie.
But the real threat is much more serious if oil leaks into an auifer, because that is underground and so affects every well, every municipal water supply instantly. No US oil company has any way of cleaning that up.
And it is a mistake to make light of what has happened so far. There were many nuclear "accidents", all brushed aside as "minor", before Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
I have seen the effects of Three Mile Island. I doubt if we will ever know the full effect of Chernobyl in my lifetime.
But the real problem in the case of Keystone is that someone is trying to stampede the decision. A proper environmental study needs to be completed. If it comes out positive, the President has already said that he will approve it.
Anyone who believes that he is anti-business is smoking something good...I'd like to know what that is. Just curiosity, of course.