Thursday, May 31, 2012

Winston-Salem Journal LTE TH 05/31/12


Constant war
One's ideologies toward the constant war in Afghanistan are definitely subject to opinion. In most cases, through controversial biases and different philosophical views, a lot of people are either extremely against the war or are entirely for the war. There is no common median. By that I mean that instead of each individual perspective coming together on similar ground, people argue when they should be more concerned about the actual war. Instead of complaining about the war, people should be more involved in preserving and conserving what we tend to overlook here in America.
We are at war with Afghanistan because Afghanistan disagrees with our way of life. The soldiers fighting abroad are protecting our way of life. We should be grateful every day for what the soldiers are doing there.
In a sense, it is a Tragedy of the Commons. People aren't realizing that by constantly bickering about whether the troops should come home or not, they are in a sense creating an even longer war. I personally feel that if it is deemed necessary that the troops should stay in Afghanistan, then they should. If they aren't needed in Afghanistan, then of course we should pull them out as quickly as possible. But as long as there is a need for defense against foreign attackers, there should always be a need for the military.
Through strife and conquest we without a doubt reign supreme against other nations, and I fully intend to keep it that way.
TERRY WUNKER
Winston-Salem
Helping riders
Under the budget proposed by Winston-Salem City Manager Lee Garrity, buses would raise their fares by 30 cents ("City plan raises property taxes," May 26). Wouldn't that adversely affect those people who ride the buses? Where is that extra 30 cents going? Is it to build much-needed roadside shelters? It certainly doesn't sound as though it will help those riders.
Isn't there some other way to collect 30 cents that would help people rather than hinder them?
ANN S. RUTTER
Pfafftown
Finish the Thought
Saturday, we asked readers to complete the sentence: "The next culture war will be over …"
* * * * *
"... railing against the poor for not paying taxes.
"The GOP has successfully waged war against women by passing legislation to restrict abortion in 30 states and to reignite the debate on contraception, ban same-sex marriage via constitutional amendment and engage in voter suppression through picture ID requirements. Now several states have passed legislation to cut taxes for the rich and raise taxes for the poor. And at the national level, the GOP has repeatedly blocked the Democratic Party's initiatives to ask the rich to pay their fair share of taxes and to repeal subsidies for Big Oil.
"The rationale for making the poor pay more taxes is that if they have to pay taxes, they are less likely to ask for government handouts. However, the GOP conveniently forgets that the poor do pay payroll taxes and a high proportion of their income on sale taxes, etc."
BOON T. LEE
* * * * *
"… self-responsibility."
SMITH MACK HAGAMAN
* * * * *
"After the Voter ID bill is hopefully defeated, I predict the next culture war will be over the dismantling of public education. The ALEC/Art Pope gang is determined to privatize education, giving vouchers and corporate-donated (tax-exempt) scholarship money to be used at secular and parochial private schools. Not only will this create further disparity in quality education, but once again the issue of separation of church and state will arise."
ANNE GRIFFIS WILSON
* * * * *
"… dismantling drug prohibition, which makes about 10 percent of the U.S. population into victimless criminals.
"Drug prohibition is based on conservative religious dogma, not medical or social science, and is thus unconstitutional. Legalizing marijuana, perhaps the safest psychoactive plant on the planet, will be the first step. The next step will be to allow chewing of coca leaves — but not use of its more dangerous extract: cocaine.
"Legal growing of Papaver somniferum poppies and use of dried poppy extract (opium) will follow.
Religious and spiritual guides will be trained to administer and monitor the "heavier" psychedelics: LSD, peyote, psylocybin, ketamine and others.
"Those few who have trouble with substance overuse will get non-judgmental professional help paid for by the high taxes on drug sales. And the world will be a better place to live without the wars, imprisonment, unjust raids, confiscations, broken families, erosion of privacy, illegal searches and deaths caused by almost 100 years of drug prohibition."
DR. JAMES S. CAMPBELL
* * * * *
"... something that has nothing to do with actual culture."
JAN HUGOSSON
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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Winston-Salem Journal LTE WE 05/30/12


New reader
If you'd like to have more educated subscribers, I'd suggest more balance on your opinion page.
Having just moved back to the area, I buy the Journal most Sundays but am not inclined at this time to subscribe for even one day, much less an entire week.
I am a 60-year-old retired attorney/senior corporate officer with money to spend. But I can't get past your politics. Not all of us are yellow-dog Republicans.
ARTHUR R. KAINZ
Kernersville
Good neighbor Obama
Thinking about a one-word adjective that describes President Obama, several come to my mind. I boiled it down to two words: Smart and kind.
Smart — many people are smart. There are more people who are smart than there are who are kind.
I settled on the one word: Kind. He is a kind man. He thinks of others.
He has a gentle smile. Not a political-made smile, but a genuine kind/gentle smile.
Yes, the one word is "kind." He and his wife would make great next-door neighbors.
CATHERINE W. PITTS
Winston-Salem
New owner
Since Warren Buffett now owns the Winston-Salem Journal ("Buffett group buys Journal, MG papers," May 18), does that mean we will subjected to unlimited liberal rubbish in the editorials? There's already too much of that on what pretends to be TV news.
CHRISTINE PULISELIC
Winston-Salem
Warren Buffett reaffirmed last week that he will take a "hands-off" approach to the 26 daily newspapers, including the Journal, that a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary is buying from Media General Inc. Here is the link to the letter on that matter that Buffett sent to editors and publishers:
— The editor.
Many did not vote
Amidst the agonizing over who "won" the Amendment One vote, keep in mind that the vote of such importance to both sides was 1,303,952 to 831,788.
Impressive? Consider that 4,161,093 duly registered — and a whopping 5,157,221 voting-age — North Carolinians did not vote. At all. They sat on their hands.
I can only surmise what they were doing with their hands, but if they don't watch out there are people in this state who'll make that illegal, too.
JERRY ADAMS
Winston-Salem
Taking exception
As a 70-year-old, I take exception to the part of your May 23 article ("Protest of sermon planned") hinting that the age (71) of the preacher in Maiden, the Rev. Charles Worley, might explain his sermon about lesbians and gays. He preached that all of them could be put in something like a concentration camp so they would die out from not being able to reproduce.
On the other hand, there's nothing about being older and a preacher that makes him smarter and better educated than his congregation. I hope my same-sex-oriented friends will forgive me for saying so, but it's much closer to fact that homosexuals and religious conservatives have something crucial in common: They are born with those predispositions. In other words, God made them that way.
RICHARD TERRY LOVELACE
Winston-Salem
Sum It Up
The Sum It Up question from Sunday was: Who will win the presidential election?


* * * * *

I think Mitt Romney will win. I pray he will win. Another four years of President Obama and this country will be in more debt than we already are. He is the most arrogant, lying president this country has ever had. God bless America — we need his blessing.
LINDA LUCAS


* * * * *

The lesser of two evils.
MONA POTTS


* * * * *

The conventional wisdom of the Beltway indicates that if the economy goes sour, the incumbent is in trouble. Presently, the economy seems to be on a steady course of recovery, although the progress is not as strong as economists would like. Nonetheless, it is moving in the right direction and if, in the next few months, nothing happens to disrupt the trend, President Obama should have a slight edge over his GOP challenger, Mitt Romney. Moreover, President Obama holds a comfortable lead on minority and women votes and a slim lead among the independent voters.
President Obama's chance for a second term looks good, but it is not assured. I agree with most pundits that it is a close race because the power of money and the negative ads cannot be under-estimated. The Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United has opened the floodgate to allow an unlimited amount of unidentified money to the super PACs to attack the opponents of the candidates they support. It will be a race between corporate money and people power, and a choice between the GOP's policy pandering to the rich and the Democratic Party's call for economic fairness.
BOON T. LEE
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Winston-Salem Journal LTE TU 05/29/12


A shameful error
The people of North Carolina have joined others in committing a shameful error by building discrimination into our state constitution. The action was unnecessary — state law in North Carolina already bans same-sex marriage.
It seems that the vehicle that did this also attacked those people who shun marriage but have a family with benefits. The implications are beyond this letter, but many will ultimately be determined by the courts. People (men, women, children) will suffer in ways also to be determined. This may have been the real reason for the Amendment One activity.
ROBERT C. MARCH
Pfafftown
Innocent media
The writer of the May 23 letter "Media doesn't care" accuses the "media" of being biased. But I believe that she is biased herself while the organizations she accuses, in this instance at least, are pretty much innocent.
She thinks that Mitt Romney is being unfairly hammered for a high-school prank while President Obama isn't being scrutinized for his college drug use. But Obama wrote about that drug use in one of his books, years ago. It is literally old news . Every time we learn something new about Romney, is the media required to dredge up something old about Obama in the name of being "fair and balanced"? That tit-for-tat approach may keep the conservatives from pouting, but it doesn't have anything to do with news. That approach would place bias into the process.
Her other complaints are trivial. So the taxpayers have to pay for some of the president's fundraising travel — when has this not been the case? Was she upset when either George Bush or Ronald Reagan did the same? I doubt it.
As for her statement about the "$40,000-per-plate dinner at George Clooney's Beverly Hills mansion," concluding that "the 'one percent' is good if it is composed of movie stars or professional athletes and gives to the Democrats": Nobody says it's bad to be rich. What's bad is when the rich suck more and more from the middle class and poor.
She misunderstands the message of the Occupy movement — and so much more. On purpose?
JANE SIMMONS
Winston-Salem
Educational excellence
I, like millions of people, listened to the audio of the recent classroom discussion that happened down in Spencer ("Teacher in video suspended," May 22). If ever there was an indictment of the North Carolina educational system, there it was for all to hear.
For any number of reasons, we should all be ashamed of our school system. This "teacher," Tanya Dixon-Neely, having influence over children is disturbing.
Teachers are supposed to raise children up, educationally, morally, ethically and in general demeanor by setting the example and by maintaining classroom standards. That she will hang around doing damage to young ones and ultimately be granted a pension funded by the taxpayers of North Carolina seems a grave injustice.
If this is what we get for our tax money, I firmly believe we and our children are being done wrong.
RALPH CHAPPELL
Winston-Salem
Concerns
America is in grave danger while the thinking is that all is well.
The large national debt, in the trillions of dollars, is being ignored, and spending continues. U.S. taxpayers must love the quote from Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, who is getting billions of dollars from the U.S. and recently thanked America for "your taxpayers' money." The U.S. has given and continues to give billions to Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries that have unstable and corrupt governments.
We are divided by religion, race and civil issues and slowly giving up our freedom to foreign ideology. Laws are not being enforced, as you can get arrested for expired tags on your car but not for being here illegally. The decline is due to the partisan leadership in Washington.
RON KIRKPATRICK
Kernersville
Government regulation
Government regulation is the means by which bureaucrats and politicians gradually replace common sense with government dependency, and they are succeeding.
PATRICK KELLEY
Winston-Salem
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Monday, May 28, 2012

Winston-Salem Journal LTE MO 05/28/12


Pro Humanitate
As members of the Wake Forest community, we were very saddened to read the outrageous attack on Imam Khalid Griggs in the May 21 paid advertisement, "Did you just waste $200,000 on a Wake Forest education?"
We want the Winston-Salem community to know that Khalid is a man of peace, compassion and deep faith. This past winter, the imam co-led an interfaith pilgrimage to the Holy Land composed of Wake Forest undergraduates and divinity students and local clergy members. In breaking bread with Khalid both in Israel and in Winston-Salem, we found a man who has a passion for social justice and interfaith dialogue. As Christians, we appreciate how he helps us understand the value and importance of religious faith and religious difference in our pluralistic society.
Wake Forest University's mission is to educate the whole person, graduating students who seek purpose-filled lives while building a community dedicated to serving humanity in the spirit of our motto, Pro Humanitate . In Khalid, we were introduced to a teacher and a friend with the highest sense of integrity. In Khalid, we found the embodiment of Pro Humanitate . It is our sincere hope that many more members of the Wake Forest community will have their lives enriched and empowered by leaders like Khalid Griggs.
We are disappointed at the lack of rational and civil discourse in our local paper, and we protest the publisher's decision to accept a hateful personal attack as a paid advertisement.
NEAL WALLS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DIVINITY SCHOOL
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
BOB STILLERMAN
MASTER OF DIVINITY CANDIDATE, DIVINITY SCHOOL
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
Winston-Salem
Start a dialogue
Lisa O'Donnell did a good job of stating why I took out an ad in the May 22 Journal criticizing Imam Griggs, the assistant chaplain at Wake Forest University ("Ad criticizing Muslim chaplain at WFU draws fire"). It is to start a dialogue, and educate people, on the nature, intent and threat of Shariah law infiltrating itself into American institutions and laws.
Ibrahim Hooper, the spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is quoted in the article as saying, "It's a big concern that a reputable newspaper would publish that kind of unanswered hate without giving the person targeted some kind of opportunity to respond or challenge whether it should even be published."
Wake Forest and the Imam have had numerous opportunities, dating back to August 2011, to respond or challenge my evidence, but refuse to do so. No doubt they hope if they ignore it long enough, it will go away. I can assure them that neither this issue nor I will fade away. Anyone who cares about America or Wake Forest should be outraged at their failure to address the issue.
DONALD WOODSMALL
Charlottesville, Va.
More conversation needed
"Did you just waste $200,000 on a Wake Forest education?"
The May 21 advertisement painting Wake Forest University Chaplain Khalid Griggs as a "Shariah supremacist" plays on people's uninformed fears. As in recent attempts to ban Shariah , the word is used as a bogeyman that stirs up hatred.
It would be helpful if people knew that Shariah is a dynamic, evolving process of Islamic religious law. Because Islam has no centralized authority (like the Vatican), Shariah is determined locally by trained scholars. There are many schools of legal reasoning in Islam, so Shariah differs widely across time and place. It is a process of reasoning, not a list of laws. The term "Shariah supremacist" therefore makes little sense.
Furthermore, as the Quran envisions it, Shariah regulates public and private aspects of life for those living in a legal system based entirely on Muslim principles. Some Muslim scholars argue that no society on earth today meets this criterion. And contrary to what the fear-mongers imply, there are no Muslim groups advocating for the United States to become such a society.
When Muslims are minorities, their religion tells them to abide by the law of the land. Shariah functions as a guide for day-to-day (unfrightening) practices of diet, hygiene, family systems, etc.
Don Woodsmall, who sponsored the advertisement, is correct that we would benefit from more conversation on religious pluralism. Let's support organizations such Interfaith Winston-Salem (www.if-ws.org), of which Imam Griggs is a part, and make this happen.
MICHELLE VOSS ROBERTS
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DIVINITY SCHOOL
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
Winston-Salem
A silver lining
There may just be a silver lining to this recent amendment vote after all.
I am told that corporations are considered to be people. Thus Duke Energy and Progress Energy are people. The fact that they both provide similar services and have similar infrastructures and corporate values leads me to believe that they are of the same sex. It seems to me that their recent efforts to consummate a merger come close to representing a marriage or at least some form of civil union, which is now proscribed under our state constitution.
Who knows? Maybe North Carolina has unwittingly given birth to a new form of anti-trust legislation. Just think; if this amendment had been in place a few years earlier, we might still have Wachovia to call our own.
ROBERT KOCH
Lexington
Pay their own way
I read with interest that there will be no Fourth of July fireworks display at Tanglewood Park this year because of a lack of sponsorship ("July 4 fireworks show canceled," May 22). I think that it is good for the Forsyth County commissioners to not put the funds forward for the display. I also think we, the taxpayers of Forsyth County, could save even more of our tax money by not having the commissioners take home a salary.
Those folks, the members of the commission, do not need to have a salary of any kind whatsoever. They should serve Forsyth County because they want to serve — not to make money.
I recommend the commissioners should serve with only their legal expenses covered by us, the taxpayers. I would recommend only $52 a year for postage, to start with.
Who do the commissioners think they are? Some sort of band of big shots who have their way paid by the taxpayers of Forsyth County?
The time has come to save more money by banning salaries to the elected, actually volunteer, commissioners. If they want the job, let them pay their own way.
Next, let us look at the Winston-Salem City Council members. Who do they think they are? That is for a later submission.
H.J. SCHAFFER
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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Winston-Salem Journal LTE SU 05/27/12


The wisdom of respect
Our world's economic failures concern people and leaders everywhere, as nations rise and fall in their political maneuvering. But mankind has never succeeded in dealing with the problems of human society apart from attention to spiritual cultivation.
Unfortunately, this understanding is too often neglected by teachers and parents who rear their children to compete and succeed economically and physically but care too little for their learning the wisdom of respecting one another. Too often we spend our time and energy in getting ahead, then die fighting one another religiously as well as politically with the futility of despair or resentment.
There have been moments in history when individuals have sacrificed themselves to promote the well-being of others. Even today we can find people who are dedicated to sharing and assisting others in charities and civil justice; still we tend to despise those not of our culture.
Human nature is not apt to change while our culture motivates us to out-do one another rather than lead one another into the ways of spiritual growth and compassion as taught and practiced by people of eternal devotion.
Many have learned the ways of our Creator and are the hope and salvation of mankind in our nation and communities of divine faith around this world and future generations. This realization comes not in programs of governmental irresponsibility and the media's promotion of sexual lewdness and violence, but by people committed to moral behavior and accountability in business and education, and especially loving homes.
JIM HELVEY
Winston-Salem
Dangerous fracking
Natural-gas fracking is being championed by some in North Carolina as a way to raise revenue and increase statewide employment.
I'm not an expert, but it seems ludicrous that it could be considered OK to pump thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the earth when simply pouring a couple gallons of the same chemicals on the earth would get someone cited for pollution, complete with a fine and possible jail time.
How can we say it is illegal to dump a jug of benzene on the ground and then think it's completely OK and safe to inject thousands of pounds of benzene, and other toxic substances, into the ground? Remember, we have no recourse but to breathe the air and drink the water and consume the produce that will come from the same ground where the chemicals will be injected.
Of course, if politicians tell us it's safe then we really don't have anything to worry about. Do we?
MICHAEL MITCHELL
Winston-Salem
Shame
When I heard the results of the marriage amendment, I was very disappointed. One may as well have written "Shame" over the state of North Carolina on a U.S. map.
This is what I think: The Bible states that marriage is the union between a man and a woman, and a person may believe this. However, he who agrees with the Bible in this does not have to impose his beliefs on others.
The Golden Rule says to treat others the way you would want to be treated. I believe in this, which is why I oppose the same-sex marriage ban.
SOPHIE ANDERSON
Winston-Salem
Sum It Up
Who will win the presidential election?
Correspondent of the Week
A Memorial Day idea
Take your family to a national or state cemetery. Ask everyone to spread out and move among the grave markers. Have them search for a veteran who died on or near the date of their birth. Write the name, date, branch of service, rank, etc., from the marker. When everyone is finished, reconvene and get family members to report on their findings. Encourage everyone to examine their feelings privately or express their emotions to the group.
I actually did this with my family at New Bern National Cemetery several years ago while vacationing in the New Bern area. Not everyone was overly enthusiastic about this grandfather's activity suggestion. I gave each family member a clipboard, pencil and paper. Years later, one commented about how meaningful and valuable that experience had been.
MIKE MABE
Pfafftown

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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Winston-Salem Journal LTE SA 05/26/12


Disregard for the truth
The ad published on May 21, "Did you just waste $200,000 on a Wake Forest Education?" concerning Imam Khalid Griggs, shows a reckless disregard for the truth. We are appalled that an ad would even be published by the Winston-Salem Journal with such racially and religiously divisive content all in an apparent pursuit of profit.
Because the Journal is an institution with a responsibility for public trust, we see grave problems here. This is clearly a sad and inappropriate action and the contents of the ad are so blatantly false there is no way to respond to it.
THE REV. KELLY P. CARPENTER
BISHOP TODD FULTON
CO-CHAIRS, CHANGE CLERGY CAUCUS
Winston-Salem
Consider the context
The writer of the letter "Tenuous arguments" (May 16) makes the all-too-common error of using a Bible verse to make a desired point without any consideration of the context of the passage in which it appears, or the specific content of surrounding text, or other biblical passages that serve to clarify or define a text's meaning.
His contention that Ezekiel 16:49 specifies that the sins of Sodom were arrogance and not helping the poor, and not one of homosexuality as other readers have previously stated, is contradicted very plainly by the very next verse, which he conveniently overlooks, in which God continues: "Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it." Should there be any doubt about what the "abominations" were that the men of Sodom committed, they are clearly spelled out as homosexuality in Genesis 19, a chapter referenced by the writer himself.
The writer also takes issue with the description in Genesis 19 of the actions of the men of Sodom, calling it a "ridiculous exaggeration" since it refers to "all the men in Sodom" as wanting to have sex with Lot's guests. He maintains that this is not an accurate portrayal of how modern-day homosexuals would act, failing to understand that the issue with God, both then and now, is the sin of homosexuality itself. Practiced publicly as a mob in Sodom or privately by individuals today, it is still an abomination to God.
RICHARD CHASE
Pfafftown
We must watch that
It is proper for newspapers to express their opinions about public matters on their editorial pages. However, when an editorial takes the form of an imperative statement bordering on a demand, it appears to change from an opinion to an edict from a greater power. I mention this because of the Journal's overuse of the word "must." The imperative "must" implies that the Journal's editorial writers believe they stand on a superior intellectual or moral podium that compels them to provide proper guidance to the directionless masses. Some examples from headlines just since February:
Legislators must correct their mistake
State must show some restraint
State must find more of the victims
Berger must be on board
Issue of criminally insane must be addressed
We must address inequalities
Tillis must proceed on forming committee
State board must determine need
General Assembly must put public first
State pulled off a save but must learn from it
(emphasis the letter-writer's)
I believe, perhaps erroneously, that a newspaper editorial should be a dialogue with the readers wherein they can ponder and agree or disagree. Consequently, the word "must" in the headline affects me like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard, because it changes the tone from dialogue to self-righteous sermonizing. It is my sincere hope that future editorials will make less use of "must" and present ideas as dialogue that respects readers as the moral and intellectual equals of the editorial writers.
HERBERT OSMON
Winston-Salem
We must retain the right to use "must." And as to treating our readers like our "moral and intellectual equals," many of them, including Osmon, are on a higher plane than us on both counts. — The editor.
Word puzzle
The May 21 letter "A government diet," using the analogy of losing weight to explain doing something about the deficit, is like a funny word puzzle or logic riddle.
The writer says that to lose weight, you must consume less; thus it is with the deficit.
But you can't get rid of the deficit by feeding it less — you get rid of the deficit by paying it off, which means feeding it more. Which means more taxes devoted to paying it off.
Still, the puzzle was fun to work out.
BONNIE G. VAUGHN
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.
"The next culture war will be over …"
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Friday, May 25, 2012

Winston-Salem Journal LTE FR 05/25/12


Protection for all
To those of us who occasionally read the Roll Call column (it basically reveals how our members of Congress vote on various bills), I could not help but notice the extraordinary number of House Republicans from our state (one Democrat) who voted in favor of the Violence Against Women Act ("Roll Call," May 20).
At first I thought it was a good thing, but upon further investigation, I see that this bill would exclude protection for battered women who are illegal immigrants, Native American women who are assaulted on reservations by non-Indians, and, most disturbingly, are gay, lesbian or transsexual citizens. These groups of women are being marginalized and deemed undeserving of protection from assault by an overwhelming majority of House Republicans.
GARRETT BROWN
Winston-Salem
Bigotry and hatred
I see the recent vote on Amendment One passed. It seems the voters who voted for this like to see bigotry and hatred written into the state constitution. What a shame.
I have gay friends, and they are some of the most honest and nicest people I've ever met. From my point of view, the Religious Right always has a hidden agenda based on hatred and bigotry.
WILLIAM SAMS
King
A balanced approach
I certainly could not agree more with the comments in the Mary 21 letter "A government diet." But I am sure the writer would agree that a doctor or nutritionist for an overweight person would highly recommend a "balanced" approach over just starving the individual. Funny thing is that as a person becomes more lean and exercises more (spending), his or her nutritional intake (taxes) may increase considerably more than his overweight intake.
My very lean and muscular son requires an excessive amount of nutrition (taxes) to maintain his health. So, according to this writer's analogy, "bring on more taxes."
ROBERT C. DILLON
Clemmons
Laws and personal choices
In reading all the many letters written on the marriage amendment voted on this past week, I feel I must get involved with items no one seems to realize. Yes, I voted for the amendment really for two reasons, neither of which is discrimination. One, my morals would not allow me to vote no. Second, if we had had Adam and Eric as our original parents, how long would the human race have existed?
But laws and personal choices do get in each others' ways. Here are a few I list for all to think of:
  • Should incest be considered an individual right?
  • Should polygamy be allowed for consenting partners?
  • Should teens, say 13 years old, be allowed to marry without permission?
  • Why can I not bathe in the nude at a public beach?
  • Why can I get a ticket for drinking and driving and not get one for carrying a loaded AK-47?
Laws are based on what we understand at the time they are enacted. In most cases, they are not discriminatory but are created to protect the morality, ethics, and health and welfare of citizens. You may not like the passage of Amendment One, but 61 percent of the voters did.
ROBERT E. FOY JR.
Advance
Good news and bad news
There is some good news and some bad news for the Triad newsprint readers. The good news is that the Winston-Salem Journal has a new owner ("Buffett group buys Journal, MG papers," May 18). Readers would hope to again have a real newspaper. Gone would be the liberal-biased editorial pages. Gone would be the liberal comic strip. Gone would be the high volume of advertisement pages. Gone would be lack of reporting the news in the outlying communities. Gone would be the small 11-by-22-inch page.
The bad news is, the new owner is Berkshire Hathaway, alias Warren Buffett, a liberal-leaning billionaire. A friend of the current occupier of the White House. He advocates that the rich should be taxed at a higher rate than other taxpayers.
Richard Craver's May 18 article, "MG papers' sale 'best vote of confidence,' " stated that Larry King, vice president of news and content for BH Media Group, said there would be "no influence whatsoever, including no mandate on local issues or political endorsements."
If readers believe that, I have a bridge for sale in San Francisco.
B.H. "TINY" SIMPSON
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