Winston-Salem Journal LTE WE 02/29/12

A set of values

I refer to a letter in the Feb. 20 Readers' Forum ("Apolitical God") that stated that God is apolitical and supports no set of values. I'm sure the writer of the letter is a sincere Christian man. However …

I will refer to the Bible because what other source of authority do Christians have?

Apolitical? We know that God dealt with Pharaoh about 3,500 years ago and with many kings in the Promised Land, as well as David and Solomon. Around 600 B.C., God told Belshazzar, king of the great Babylon, that he had been weighed in the scales and found wanting. The king was dead by morning.

Around 60 A.D. Paul wrote in Romans, "There is no authority except that which God has established."

No set of values? In John 14:15, Jesus said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments." And how many times did he say, "Go, and sin no more"?

God has told us, over and over, what to do and what not to do. Now, there is no law that says anyone has to believe all this, but if they do believe it, they might conclude that God, himself, isa set of values.

If God does not support a set of values, we poor Christians would be a hopeless and foolish bunch. But we're not, are we?

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SMITH HAGAMAN

Winston-Salem

Necktie conspiracy

You have printed advertisements of knitted and silvery neckties but have never mentioned the risks of tying bands about one's neck. Most political speakers wear them regularly.

President Obama is occasionally seen lecturing without a tie. The Journal could spread the word and document the alarming evidence.

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ED SPUDIS

Winston-Salem

Saving taxpayer dollars

I read that Forsyth County is facing an upcoming budget shortfall ("Forsyth expects big budget gap," Feb. 10). As the bean-counters work to reduce costs, a look at both the county employee benefits consultant and the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) suggested by the consultant would be a good place to start. If there are undisclosed financial conflicts of interest between these entities and the county, those potential conflicts can lead to wasted taxpayer dollars.

PBMs are the claims-processing middlemen between employers and pharmacies. The PBM industry originated as a means to reduce costs and administrative burden, but has morphed into a shady, unregulated industry that refuses to act as a fiduciary for the plan sponsors they serve. "Spread pricing," "rebate retention" and "mandatory mail order" are just of few of the drug-cost-inflating games played by the PBMs.

Benefits consultants are the "middlemen to the PBM middlemen," and they make large sums of money by recommending to employers which PBM to use. What is often undisclosed by the benefits consultant, however, is how much money the PBM is paying to the benefits consultant (directly or indirectly from the insurance plan) to suggest their PBM, or specific programs (like mandatory mail order).

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DAVE MARLEY

OWNER, MARLEY DRUG

Winston-Salem

Gas prices

The jump in the price of gas is being blamed on the trouble with Iran. But Saudi Arabia is an enemy of Iran, and it has the reserves and capacity to make up the loss of Iran's oil to the West. So what's driving up the price of oil and gas? The commodity brokers are pushing up the prices through speculation to fill their greed.

It's time for the U.S. government to roll back the price of oil to $70 a barrel and put a limit on the amount it can increase a day. It also needs to allow the U.S. companies to increase production and approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada.

Will the government do any of these things? Not as long as Obama is president. His veto of the Keystone pipeline is a prime example of his attitude about making the U.S. energy-independent. This pipeline was approved by the Republican House and the Democratic Senate, one of the few bipartisan-approved bills in the last three years, and Obama vetoed it. No wonder the U.S. is in such a bad condition.

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MELVIN LANCE

Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem Journal LTE TU 02/27/12

Take another look

After reading "Rowan board plans to flout prayer ruling" (Feb. 22), I feel very thankful for our Forsyth County commissioners, who may have been stubborn but at least recognize the rule of law. I don't know what's going to happen next in Rowan County, but it won't be pretty.

The Journal quotes a Rowan resident, Terry Brown, who said, "If they tell county commissioners they can't pray, soon they're going to be in my church telling me I can't pray in the name of Jesus."

How is it that Jesus has led this man and others like him, probably, to be so paranoid and fearful? No one tries to stop Christians from praying in their homes, churches or in the streets. The same principle that keeps religion out of government — separation of church and state — keeps government out of religion.

I know that some conservative Christians don't like this important principle and even deny it exists. Perhaps they should take another look at it.

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BILLY C. MEADOWS

Winston-Salem

Missing Whitney

I miss Whitney Houston so much; she was an icon. Everybody knows that she had a drug problem, but people will remember her not by that but by her beautiful, rich, seemingly effortless singing ability.

Some of the younger generation ask why we keep talking about Whitney, but I don't think like that. I love Whitney Houston, I love all of her music. Everybody in my family loves Whitney Houston, and ever since I was a little girl I've been listening to her music. Every time she had a new song, and when she came back out with a new album, I listened to her.

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EBONY BREVARD

Winston-Salem

God's values

Thanks to the writer of the Feb. 20 letter "Apolitical God" for enlightening us on ideology. In reading his letter with an open, logical mind, I was diligently trying to get some wisdom until his statement: "[God] supports no candidate, no cause and no set of values."

To say that God supports no set of values is to say that God is no different from the devil and that there is no difference between good and evil. Note: When Jesus blessed and forgave one's sins, he said, "Go and sin no more." If there is no sin, how can one sin no more?

At the old age of nearly 78 with an unusual level of diversity in life's experiences, I have come to the conclusion that one of the greatest problems we have in today's society is that hardly anyone is willing to take personal responsibility for their own mistakes and problems. They just blame someone else and go right on hoping and expecting someone else to pull them out.

I love America, the greatest country on earth, too much to just sit by and watch what's happening and not speak up.

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KENNETH HAYES

Mocksville

Burning Qurans

Why all the panic over a couple of Qurans being burned ("Obama apologizes but protests rage on," Feb. 24)? The Muslims have been burning Bibles for years. If I had a copy of the Quran or any other religious book that I don't believe in, why wouldn't I have the right to burn it?

In many Muslim countries, Christianity is banned, and if one converts to it, he could be killed. In America we allow mosques to be built. Try building a church in their countries.

If someone burned a Bible here, we would never kill him. I would just pray for him, that his eyes would be opened. These fanatics are crazy.

I'm not ashamed to be a Christian. I would never want to be associated with the Muslim faith. That is my choice. They have their choice. There is so much hate in their religion. Just look at what they are doing to their own people.

We don't have to apologize to anyone because we burn the Quran. They are killing innocent Americans who are there to protect their freedom. I wish we would pull out of all Muslim countries and let them continue to kill each other if they want.

God bless America. He sure has in the past.

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DAVID GEORGE

Yadkinville

Posthumous conversions

I was reading the Feb. 24 story "Baptism claim outrages Jews," and I can understand why Jews would be upset over the idea of Mormons "posthumously baptizing" Jews — it's not very respectful. But I think they're overreacting to be so outraged.

I mean, does it really have any kind of effect? Nobody can be baptized on my behalf. It's kind of like posthumously converting Mormons to be gay, which one can do online now, and is, in my opinion, the proper response.

Let the Mormons waste their time. Less of it to spend knocking on doors.

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RICKY S. PHILLIPS

Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem Journal LTE MO 02/27/12

The government's responsibility

I hear conservative Christians say that, yes, it's good to feed the poor, but it's not the government's responsibility. Our tax money shouldn't go for that; it's the churches' responsibility (even though they can't meet all the needs and don't really try).

Neither is it the government's responsibility to teach children about religion or lead people in Christian prayer.

But if this is a Christian nation, and schools and governments do have the right to direct sectarian prayer, then I want to see them use their authority to act out the rest of the Christian doctrine. No one can seriously argue that a Christian government should lead prayer but shouldn't feed the poor.

It's got to be one way or the other, Christians; it can't be both.

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BUDDY OSBORNE

Winston-Salem

Greece and the U.S.

Like it or not, what's happening in Greece right now (demonstrations, riots, vandalism, looting) will probably happen in the U.S. soon. Why? Because our politicians, Democrats, Republicans and independents, don't have the guts to present a plan to the American people that will address our soaring debt and implement drastic, but necessary solutions to rein in our debt. All the politicians want to do is get re-elected. They don't want to tell the public what must be done to fix the debt problem.

The politicians are scared to tell the people the facts. The politicians are afraid that they will lose votes and have to leave office if they tell the American people that sacrifices must be made; that yes, taxes will have to increase, but also all "entitlements" will have to be reduced or eliminated in many cases, or delayed. That's what's happening in Greece right now, and the people are rebelling, as they don't want their "entitlements" reduced or eliminated. So what do we do? Nothing? That's what our politicians are doing.

If your household debt was getting out of control, you would reduce spending and cut out frills as you couldn't afford them. Why isn't our government doing the same thing? That is, cut spending and try at the same time to increase income, in order to get the debt reduced to manageable numbers.

This idiocy cannot continue. We must reduce national debt now. But, our politicians don't have the guts. Greece, here we come!

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HOWARD W. MOFFATT

Winston Salem

Womble's recovery

While we are glad to see N.C. Rep. Larry Womble's recovery ("Womble says he won't run," Feb 22), it was a puzzling and sad missed opportunity. Everyone was enthralled with his first public comment since the accident, noting his now "strong voice," friends "excited to hear" him and praising his "consistent voice for fair and equal treatment of all people."

In his long-anticipated first public comment, Womble didn't mention the accident, express remorse to the family of David Allen Carmichael or explain what he remembered about his car crossing the center line and taking the life of another human being. The very best that can be said about Womble on the night of Dec. 2 is that he was not driving with alcohol in his system — yet his driving skill and attention compared unfavorably with the victim of this accident, who was over the legal limit for driving after alcohol consumption. Until there is, at a minimum, some public expression of regret, let's not get so excited about politics and talk of a comeback.

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ARCH EMBLER

Winston-Salem

Protecting marriage?

Amendment One is the crowning achievement of a General Assembly that has managed to marginalize and alienate just about everyone. In reference to state Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam's comment in the Feb. 19 article "Marriage law stirs legal issues," I would say our legislators are the ones who have tried to take voter's eyes off the ball.

I can see that many people could be harmed, emotionally or financially, by this amendment. What I can't understand is: Who will this help?

The only thing I've heard supporters say is "this is needed to protect marriage." Who the heck is marriage? We are putting an institution ahead of human beings? Well, I guess if corporations are people, marriage has the same rights as citizens.

What kind of convoluted logic is this?

I think the majority of North Carolina voters are decent, compassionate people who realize how unjust and unwarranted this amendment is. There is not enough love in this world, and we need to respect the rights of others even if we don't agree with them. What we don't need, and should not tolerate, are lawmakers who manufacture problems to distract us from the real challenges we face.

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MELODY THOMSON

Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem Journal LTE SU 02/26/12

We're all sinners

It's not going away: same-sex marriage.

The passion on both sides is amazing. It's amazing how the Bible views these matters. Sin is sin with God. One small one is as bad as whatever determines the biggest one.

Not with people. The majority, Christian or not, act like sin is an acronym for "sin is negotiable." The fact is, we are all guilty of sin, according to the Bible. There are none righteous, not one.

Sexual sin means adultery involving the married or fornication involving the unmarried or homosexuality — they are all the same. Those who speak out the loudest about same-sex marriage usually get quiet when confronted with Jesus saying that looking at a woman in lust is just as bad as adultery or fornication — which makes all of us guys guilty and probably most women.

While I'm not for same-sex marriage, I can't cast the first stone. I needed a savior to forgive me of all my sin as well as one I can go to daily for forgiveness when my eyes get me in trouble. And the last thing I need is a magazine's new swimsuit edition.

The bottom line is all of us, straight or gay, need to understand what is acceptable and not acceptable in God's eyes and not our own. Then all of these issues would take care of themselves. But most of us would rather pick up a stone for our cause than confront ourselves about such matters.

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JOE ESKRIDGE SR.

Lewisville

Religion and medicine

Supposedly some employers would be violating their religious beliefs by providing insurance coverage of birth control to their employees.

Do they willingly cover other medications that can support sin? Viagra to support lust? Insulin to support gluttony? Heart medications for those slothful people who haven't exercised aerobically all their lives?

Is considering their religious beliefs to be more important than those of their employees a form of pride? Does forcing an individual to unwillingly choose grace over sin actually free the individual from that sin?

Many of Caesar's laws are the same as God's laws; they protect individuals from others. But God's laws go further: They protect your soul from yourself. Do we really want Caesar involved in protecting our souls?

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DOROTHY MATHEWS

Rural Hall

CORRESPONDENT OF THE WEEK

Canine cruelty

What a welcome difference a year and new trial can make ("Dog's death plays out in courtroom," Feb. 16).

Many readers will remember last June when a woman who starved her dogs to death was given a token suspended sentence ("Forsyth woman guilty of starving two dogs," June 10). Now we have Pedro Lamont Hill, who decided to teach a 5-pound Yorkie a lesson and ultimately caused her death. This followed a previous incident when he had caused the Yorkie to suffer a broken bone. We can only hope that these are the only acts of cruelty Hill has committed, given that animal abuse and human abuse are often close cousins.

Faced with a reluctant witness (the Yorkie's owner) and the tragic demise of the arresting officer, prosecutor Matt Breeding faced a dilemma. Nonetheless, the jury convicted Hill of misdemeanor cruelty to animals, the best that they could do under the circumstances.

Fortunately, Judge William Z. Wood gave Hill nearly the maximum penalty, unlike the suspended sentence in last year's case. Community service, probation, a fine, money to an animal-abuse fund and anger management/parenting classes are the best we could hope for and a positive sign that animals finally have a chance in our local courts.

Thanks to the judge, prosecutor and jury for a job well done. Oh, and shame on Hill for attacking a defenseless animal that weighed perhaps 3 percent of what he does.

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KEITH MURPHY

Winston-Salem

Murphy is president of Fur-Ever Friends of NC and a member of the Forsyth County Animal Control Advisory Board. — the editor

Sum It Up

Could America ever have a non-Christian president? Respond to letters@wsjournal.comand put "Sum It Up" in the subject header. Only signed entries, please, no anonymous ones. Briefer responses receive preference in print.

Winston-Salem Journal LTE SA 02/25/12

Respecting Cal

I rarely agree with columnist Cal Thomas (which means that I actually read his column occasionally and that on some few occasions I have agreed with him). However, I was stunned by his column "Rachel Maddow and my lesson in civility" (Feb. 17). I still do not agree with most of his views, but I have gained respect for him after reading this column.

If more people — conservatives and liberals — treated those with opposing views with both respect and with the belief that they have innate value as a person, perhaps our country could move forward once again.

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LAURA A.W. PHILLIPS

Winston-Salem

Sort it out

Conservatives say the government is too big and we need more rugged independence and free enterprise beyond the reach of the oppressive hand of Washington; progressives say that we need more of a hand up for the least of us, and that only government can provide that safety net.

These seem to be directly opposite views. They seem to leave little room for compromise, but the truth is more interesting. Maybe both are right, and maybe both can have what they prefer.

In 2007, the last "normal" year, the 10 most conservative states received 21 percent of their income through transfers from the federal government, while the 10 most progressive states received only 17 percent of their income from Washington. The American political system is delivering the opposite of what Americans want, when sorted by where they live.

Suppose we give the conservative states what they want — less government handouts — and the progressive states what they want — more safety net — by changing the pattern of transfers. Take about a quarter of the transfers going to conservative states and give them to the progressive states. The conservative states would be as free as the progressive states once were, and the progressive states as smothered as the conservatives once were. Here is a win-win for both ends of the political spectrum, and without tax increases.

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STEVE SCROGGIN

Winston-Salem

The Komen question

Why would Susan G. Komen for the Cure (a cancer charity), whose stated mission is education and research about the causes and treatment of breast cancer, give any of our donations to Planned Parenthood (the largest abortion provider in the country) ("Komen incident leaves damage," Feb. 5)? Its diversion of our donations away from finding the cure for breast cancer to Planned Parenthood is a major breach of trust.

I think we need to defund Susan G. Komen for the Cure along with Planned Parenthood.

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MARY JO ARGENTA

Winston-Salem

The 'marriage amendment'

"But that's not what I meant. I didn't mean that unmarried heterosexual couples would no longer be able to pursue domestic-violence complaints against their abusive partners. And I certainly didn't mean that public employers would no longer be able to provide health care to their committed straight or gay employees. Really, that's not what I meant." So state Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam might say about Amendment One.

Well, then, what did he mean? Proponents of Amendment One are attempting to define marriage in our constitution as between one man and one woman, even though marriage by any other definition is already illegal. No one wishes ill to victims of domestic violence, regardless of their sexual orientation. We also agree that health-care benefits, if made available by the employer, should never be eliminated because of someone else's definition. That's the employer's decision, not ours.

Since Amendment One will regulate what is already illegal, why pass it? Numerous legal minds are in agreement that the proposed language is ambiguous at best ("Marriage law stirs legal issues," Feb. 19). So why the rush? Regardless of which side people are on, they should consider that the proposed language still needs work.

We always say that we're smart enough to pause when we know something has been shown to be questionable; this is questionable. We owe it to ourselves to know what we're really voting for on May 8. Until we do, please vote no. The potential consequences for all couples is just too great.

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GLYNIS JORDAN

Winston-Salem

Finish the Thought

Briefly complete the sentence below and send it to us at letters@wsjournal.com. We'll print some of the results in a few days. Only signed entries, please, no anonymous ones.

"Big government becomes a problem when it…"

Winston-Salem Journal LTE FR 02/24/12

Wasting time

How embarrassing.

I'm about as liberal as they come, and believe in strict gun control, but I couldn't believe that anyone would waste their time complaining about the ProShots Indoor Range and Training billboards ("Under fire," Feb. 12). For goodness sake, it's obvious that the company is just trying to be funny while drumming up some business. And I'd much rather see a billboard from a company that welcomes everyone than one of those terrible "If you voted for President Obama, we don't want you" commercials that were in the news a while back.

ProShots is a legal business and as far as we know, has not broken any law or harmed anyone. I wish I could apologize to the ProShots owners for my fellow liberals — sometimes they can be a dour bunch.

If my friends really do want to "coexist," that means with gun owners, too.

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JANE FREEMONT GIBSON

Winston-Salem

In the middle

Regarding the Feb. 20 letter "Governing our food," readers should understand that the truth of the matter, as is often the case, lies somewhere in the middle of the fray. According to information coming from Bob Barnes, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Hoke County, the error was not so much in governmental meddling but rather in a poor decision by the child's teacher.

The lunch in question met dietary guidelines except for a sugary fruit drink that should have been replaced by low-fat milk. The teacher told the child to get a school lunch rather than just getting some milk.

This has been blown way out of proportion in regard to any governmental oversight of school lunches and should only receive the attention it deserves.

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LOUIS NEWTON

Winston-Salem

Sum It Up

The Sum It Up question from Sunday was: Do you think Americans are too obsessed with the untimely deaths of celebrities?

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Yes. And way too "unobsessed" with the untimely deaths of our soldiers, sailors and Marines who gave their lives in defense of our right to obsess over the deaths of celebrities.

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CHARLIE STOTT

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Americans have become pathologically obsessed with the deaths of celebrities, who originally became famous for their talent but consciously chose to follow paths of darkness and tragedy, suppressing their development of character. It is often obvious that their fame ran away with their good judgment.

On Feb. 17, the highly celebrated and prominent Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier received awards on national TV for their active interest and contributions to various important humanitarian causes and charities.

These are the mentors and models whom we should honor and imitate.

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VIRGINIA UNDERHILL

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Yes, but it's not just Americans, it's worldwide. Most people have a need to worship something. It may be a god, or a celebrity, and they are willing to spend millions of dollars to show their love and adulation of the one(s) they worship. And, to add to the words "untimely deaths of celebrities," in your question, in so many instances, it's also the "inevitable deaths" of these celebrities who had it all, and blew it on drugs, losing the one life they had. It is sad.

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PATRICIA STOCKMEISTER

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Concerning the attention given celebrity death and our fixation on celebrities in general, the broader question is: What are we celebrating?

In the words of George Will concerning Jean Edward Smith's biography, "Eisenhower in War and Peace" ("Reasons to like (and honor) Ike," Feb. 20), has the "person esteemed by the nation lived and is worth learning more about" met that criterion? Do we hear America singing by virtue of that honoree's life? If not, then less attention than that recently given Whitney Houston would be in order.

On Feb. 22, many of us heard the words: "Remember, man, that dust thou art, and unto dust thou shall return," as we received the blessed ashes on our foreheads. Death levels the playing field, an equal opportunity player, as we graduate from life on earth to life in heaven.

Sic transit gloria mundi!

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WILLIAM K. ACH

* * * * *

Yes, Americans are obsessed with the untimely deaths of celebrities. I truly wish they were as concerned with the untimely deaths of our young military men and women. These are the ones who knew more about death long before they knew much about life.

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JIM SCHALLER

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Yes, most definitely, we're all simple living creatures, but Americans are also obsessed with the untimely death of most everything. Every live thing since the beginning of time has departed this old world the same way.

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FRANK SCISM

Winston-Salem Journal LTE TH 02/23/12

A consistent bridge-builder

We are encouraged by the administration of Wake Forest University in its continued support of the Office of the Chaplain, and the work of Imam Khalid Griggs ("Imam says he's had warm reception at WFU," Feb. 13). It is the appropriate response in our pluralistic age.

For over 10 years, we have worked alongside Imam Griggs to make Winston-Salem a more just and compassionate community. We know that in a post-9/11 world it is imperative to be about the work of building bridges across our differences, including religious ones. Imam Griggs has been a consistent bridge-builder who has helped deepen the community's understanding of Islam, especially for those of us from other religious traditions. He has also been an unswerving voice for justice in our community.

We hope the university will stay on this path into the future, and refuse to give ear to those who call us to a false world built on fear and ignorance.

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THE REV. KELLY P. CARPENTER

Winston-Salem

This letter was written in consultation with 12 leaders on behalf of the CHANGE Clergy Caucus. — the editor

Not all there is

Another fabulous voice is silenced with the passing of Whitney Houston. And how many have we seen over the years, to mention Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson as examples? For those who love this kind of music, it is indeed a loss.

Acknowledging this, my question, and that for many others, is: What kind of legacy have these and others left for those who adored them? What example left for posterity?

I'm reminded of Peggy Lee's song of years ago: "Is That All There Is?" Life is made up of choices we make every day, whether as entertainers, sports figures, politicians, etc. With hope, these choices will encourage us to be better citizens, parents, children.

The answer to Lee's lyrics: No, this is not all there is. And for those of us who believe in a "hereafter" and put our trust in a higher power, there is the most important choice of all: try to live a life of honor and obedience to Him.

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BOB G. TANNEHILL

Winston-Salem

Barbecue threat

Could it be that our pork barbecue restaurants are in jeopardy?

I ask this because the writer of the letter "God's word" (Feb. 16) infers that the Rev. Ron Baity and his followers are opposed to same-sex marriage because it is counter to instructions contained in the Bible, which they claim is the word of God. Now, since this same Bible clearly forbids the eating of pork (Leviticus 11:7,8; Deuteronomy 14:7-9) it is possible that if these people prevail, the outlawing of eating pork could be next.

So those like me who enjoy a visit to Lexington should be thoughtful in how they vote.

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PAUL D. WHITSON

Advance

Finish the Thought

Last Saturday we asked readers to complete the sentence, "Rick Santorum can win the GOP presidential nomination if he ..."

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"… wins Michigan, sweeps caucuses in Alaska, Idaho and North Dakota, wins two of the big three on Super Tuesday, wins a big chunk of Texas' 155 delegates, gets a must win in California in June, gets a Gingrich dropout/endorsement somewhere along the way and then hopes Romney continues making gaffes as he most certainly will. Otherwise he could win at a brokered convention."

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KAM BENFIELD

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"… keeps stating there is no man-made global warming, contraception is a sin, evolution is a hoax and the Earth is flat."

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RUDY DIAMOND

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"... can win over a good portion of votes from Gingrich supporters, withstand or counterattack the onslaught of negative ads by pro-Romney super PACs and get under the skin of Romney during debates."

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BOON T. LEE

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"… can lie, cheat and steal better than his competition."

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LOUIS NEWTON

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"… all the voters have a low IQ."

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CATHERINE W. PITTS