A response to revelation
It has come to my attention that many people in this country hate Islam, Muslims and their way of life as a result of terror plots directed at the United States. I will confess that this hatred is not entirely unexpected, though incorrectly placed. To hate an entire religion is to wrongly believe that religions are single, monolithic structures that are followed the exact same way by all of their followers across the globe. This is simply not the case.
Islam has many different sects, chief among them Sunnis and Shiites. This division is similar to the Catholic/Protestant division of Christianity, or the differences in the lifestyles of Hassidic Jews and their more liberal counterparts in faith. If a Catholic man killed all the doctors and patients in an abortion clinic, no one would claim all that Christians behave that way.
Religion is a response to revelation, and it dictates all of our lives, even the lives of the irreligious. It is not the faith that our anger should be directed at, rather, the people who committed these atrocities. It is not the revelation that is the problem. We are.
JOHN BELMONT
Winston-Salem
All together
This message is in response to the June 3 letter "Bias and special treatment."
The writer sarcastically tries to point out all the fine things that those with money ought to be stripped of to appease those who are envious of the well-to-do. There is only one thing that the 99 percent envies when it comes to the rich: The percentage that the rich pay in taxes compared to the 99 percent, who are taxed at a higher rate.
Since we live in this wonderful country together, everyone should pay their fair share. This is common sense, not class envy.
The writer believes that the rich are frowned upon by the 99 percent because of the perks that the wealthy enjoy. I worked hard for my humble home, and shopping at Wal-Mart instead of in a Neiman Marcus catalog suits me fine, too.
As far as being envious of the rich because they get to fly first-class, as he suggests, well, nothing could be further from the truth. Flying is one of the few times I feel like everyone is on the same playing field. Why? Because if the plane goes down, we all go down together. Now let's all pay our fair share.
TONY McQUEEN
Kernersville
Funny letters
I have always read the letters to the editor and just finished reading the one about columnist John Hood in the June 3 Journal ("Popularity"). I have also always read the funnies. And to tell the truth, the letters to the editors are funnier. Maybe you should consider replacing the funnies with two more pages of letters to the editor.
I can tell in the first line of a letter if the writer is a Democrat. The person either wants to take away some more of my rights or give some more of my money to someone else or is bad-mouthing the Republicans like "Scott Walker, the union-busting governor of Wisconsin, or Jan Brewer, the Mexican-abusing governor of Arizona."
And before readers start thinking that I am just one of those idiot Republicans, let me say that the day after I returned from my service duty in Germany, I registered as a Democrat. That was in 1962. I remained a registered Democrat until the day that Barack Obama became the Democrats' choice for president, when I changed my party affiliation to independent.
C.J. DENNY
Wallburg
Outrageous costs
Two million dollars to run a nonprofit hospital ("Baptist, Novant pay CEOs $2 million-plus," May 29)? That's insane. The heart surgeons don't make that much. I guess that explains why health-care costs are outrageous.
KEN JAMES
Winston-Salem
A low grade
I find it amusing that Mitt Romney pretends to grade President Obama on the economy, giving Obama an "F." In comparison, where would we grade George W. Bush on the economy? If Obama gets an "F," then Bush set the school on fire.
And what's Romney's solution to the economy? He wants to go back and do the same things Bush did.
In a Republican world where reality doesn't matter, where failure is the new success, Romney and Bush would each get an "A."
JOHN R. HONEYCUTT
Winston-Salem
Effective
Rules for telling an effective lie: Make it big, make it simple, tell it often. Hence, Bain Capital is bad and Mitt Romney is bad — over and over and over.
Will Americans buy it? For our country's future, let's hope not.
KAY ANDERSON
Winston-Salem
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLTE #3... Funny Letters
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of funny:
Full Name: CRAIG JARRELL DENNY SR
Street Address:
City:
Zip Code:
County: DAVIDSON
Gender: Male
Race: White
Ethnicity: Not Hispanic or Not Latino
Voter Reg. Number: 000000143452
Registration Date: 09/27/2004
Party: UNAFFILIATED
Precinct: WALLBURG #80A
Eligible To Vote?: Yes
wasn't that after Kerry was nominated?
The day Barack Obama was nominated: 08/27/08
DeleteThat's right, Bob; he can register as Democrat, Republican, or UNAFFILIATED (which I am) but still vote REPUBLICAN and I can read THAT ALL OVER Mr. Denny's LTE.
Deleteactually, C.J. became unaffiliated on the day the 50th Anniversary Issue of Sports Illustrated came out.
DeleteLOVE your profile pic!!!
Delete'EVOLVED'-into a bigger socialist, and he needs to be voted out.!
DeleteMaybe Denny the Untruthful thought that Kerry was black.
DeleteFormer president Bill Clinton roiled the presidential campaign Tuesday with comments in an interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo in which he called for continuing all the current income tax rates into early 2013, as opposed to President Obama who wants income tax rates on higher-income people to go up at the start of 2013. Clinton also said the economy is still in a recession.
ReplyDelete_________________
At one time, I thought all this letter writing to newspapers and liberal commentary would help Democrats and liberala in elections. It's pretty clear after the 'Protection of Marriage Admendment Act' passed overwhelmingly that those actions have had the opposite effect. I think what happened is people started to think about all of these moronic ideas that the Democrats have come with, and said hey, that's stupid. I'm not for that, and I'm voting against it.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) also did a fine job for Republicans. Her comment about we have to pass it find out what's in it, really set Americans off.
So, I'm actually GLAD all these loony Democrats write into the paper everyday and go on their usual idiotic rants. It helps get the message out that Republicans are the people to vote for to get the country back on track.
"Be silent! Keep your forked tongue behind you teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm!" Gandalf
DeleteLawmakers need to compromise with President Barack Obama, and all sides need to agree to keep tax cuts and spending structures in play now and make sure growth returns -- and then tackle deficits.
ReplyDelete"They will probably have to put everything off until early next year," Clinton says.
"That's probably the best thing to do right now. But the Republicans don't want to do that unless he agrees to extend the tax cuts permanently, including for upper income people, and I don't think the president should do that."
Turning to taxes, Clinton says top earners should pay more since current levels aren't that high, pointing out they just feel high because of the economic downturn.
Spending isn't that high either.
"They're still pretty low, the government spending levels. But I think they look high because there's a recession," Clinton says.
And that's the rest of the story.
http://www.moneynews.com/Headline/Clinton-US-Recession-Cliff/2012/06/05/id/441300
"Clinton also said the economy is still in a recession." pants on fire "The U.S. economy has slid back into a recession and Congress should extend all tax breaks due to expire at the end of the year to rekindle growth and avoid further contraction, former President Bill Clinton tells CNBC."
ReplyDeleteYes for all the disdain that conservatives show for Europe, why are they insisting on following the European Austerity plan which isn't working?
Britain is back in recession, but I don't think the US economy has shrunk for quite a while now. What, there has also been 24-26 months of private sector job growth after shedding 700K a month. The only thing keeping unemployment from shrinking faster is all the public sector job loss, like teachers, policeman, firemen, being shed by states with Republican held power.
DeleteThey're doing all they can to sabotage the economy to bring Obama down...Watch them change their tune if Romney wins.
DeleteTheir slogan should be: "Vote Republican -- Or Else"
Kinda like "Sign this check card or else" hmmm?
DeleteYou seem like a nice man, but you have an Asperger's-like fixation on that subject.
DeleteI can attest, Stab is a very nice man with an incredibly nice family to be. A bit focused on "card check," that's why I always try to shift the conversation toward astronomy.
DeleteTransit of Venus
It's a good thing that the the victorious soldiers of the Civil war didn't march by Stab's house singing "The Union forever, hurrah, boys, hurrah..."
DeleteThey'd have gotten buckshot in their breeches.
The card check reference is a reminder that not all evil resides on the right.
DeleteWow, two transits in two days...first Venus transits the sun, then Biden transits Fourth Street.
DeleteAfter speaking at our new $87 million biotech center, Biden was seen eating frozen custard at Wolfies and shaking a lot of hands near Hutch & Harris on Fourth Street, then transiting to the old Winston Theater building a couple of blocks down Fourth for some sort of meeting.
The security was pretty low profile.
So true. I even have some evil going on in the middle, but I am working on it.
DeleteYes, I went to the library today 2 and had to turn at Broad.
DeleteStab, the card check thing is about as stale as Buck boy's bad ends. Surely you can find at least one other evil perpetrated by the left...there must be many. Here's a little essay on lefties that might help you find just the right one:
DeleteFor thousands of years, the Devil has been associated with the left hand in various ways and is normally portrayed as being left-handed in pictures and other images. In the seventeenth century it was thought that the Devil baptised his followers with his left-hand and there are many references in superstitions to the “left-hand side” being associated with evil. As an example, in France it was held that witches greet Satan “avec le bras gauche” or with the left hand. It is also considered that we can only see ghosts if we look over our left shoulder and that the Devil watches us over the left shoulder.
• Evil spirits lurk over the left shoulder – throw salt over this shoulder to ward them off.
• Joan of Arc (burned at the stake in 1431 for being a heretic and a witch) was not necessarily left-handed, she may have been depicted in this way to make her seem evil.
• Getting out of bed with the left foot first means that you will have a bad day and be bad tempered . i.e. getting out of bed the wrong side.
• A ringing in the right ear means that someone is praising you. In the left ear it means that someone is cursing or maligning you.
• An itchy right palm means that you will receive money. An itchy left palm means you will have to give money.
• Wedding rings worn on the third finger of the left hand originated with the Greeks and Romans, who wore them to fend off evil associated with the left-hand
• The right hand often symbolises ‘male’ while the left hand is ‘female’. This one is very important for woman haters like you-know-who.
• If you hear the sound of a cuckoo from the right it will be a lucky year. If the sound comes from the left it will be unlucky.
• The Meru people of Kenya believed that the left-hand of their holy man has such evil power that he had to keep it hidden for the safety of others.
• If your right eye twitches you will see a friend, if it’s your left eye that twitches you’ll see an enemy.
• When leaving to go on a journey, if your right foot itches you’re bound to have a good journey. If your left foot itches it will end in sorrow.
• It is thought to be bad luck to pass a drink to another person with your left-hand or anti-clockwise around a table.
• Passing or pouring wine with the left hand leads to bad luck.
• A left-handed toast is tantamount to a curse on the victim.
• Christianity is strongly based towards the right hand. It is the right had that gives the blessing and make the sign of the cross.
• The left hand does worst in the parable of the sheep and goats. The sheep are set on Christ’s right hand and the goats on the left. Those on the right inherit the kingdom of god while those on the let depart into everlasting fire. Of course, in real life, sheep are dumb as rocks, while goats are very smart indeed.
• The first recorded Siamese twins born in 1811 were joined at the waist. Their names? Chang and Eng, which simply meant ‘Left and Right’
Chang, of course, was the evil twin.
Dory Previn wrote a song called Left Hand Lost:
Deletethe left hand is
we always say
the demon devil's side
the left had does
the dirty work
the shameful things
you hide
judas kissed the left cheek of christ
it's satan's special mark
there were no left-footed animals
allowed on noah's ark
left-handed people are impure
they go against the grain
left-handed children
play with themselves
and drive themselves insane
i was born left-handed
but the nuns where i went to school
they said it wasn't right so they
broke me of it
and now i'm right-handed
just like i'm supposed to be
and now
i'm fine
i'm just fine
really
really
but sometimes
i get so low so low
sometimes
i get so depressed
as though i lost
a part of me that loved me
the part that knew me best
the child in me that cried
to be cherished
the side of me
that tried to be my friend
in the heart of me was living
and loving
but it perished
and i'll never be
completely me again
my right had fills the china teacups
and needlepoints with old maid aunts
my right hand clings to rosary beads
and waters dying plants
but it's never painted a picture
nor has it run for president
my left hand
might have done these things
if its roots
had not been bent
a sculptor
a poet
it might have been
instead of a useless thing
to decorate with bangles and bracelets
and my mother's wedding ring
something
it might have accomplished
or nothing
but now i'll never know
oh
my lost
my left
my natural hand
my god
i miss you so
Interesting. Even the word "sinister" is derived from Latin for left or left handed, IIRC.
DeleteBut my favorite song of hers is called Twenty Mile Zone:
Deletehttp://www.songlyrics.com/dory-previn/twenty-mile-zone-lyrics/
Sinister - In heraldry, the side of an escutcheon or coat of arms that is to the left of the bearer (opposed to dexter)
DeleteAnd when we meet someone, we hold up our right (sword/dagger) hand or shake hands right-handed to show that we mean no harm. Of course, the "sinister" lefty can take advantage of this by "stabbing" away with his left hand.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI prefer a good elbow BUMP these days. Shaking hands shares too many germs.
DeleteInteresting that the heraldic term "sinister" took root, while "dexter" is only known to heraldry buffs.
DeleteEver heard anyone say "He's a dexter kind of guy."?
Poor stab says he has a hole in his heart because he is in agreement with William Jefferson Clinton on this.
ReplyDelete"Keep spending to avoid going bankrupt."
ReplyDeleteWhat infamous Democrat said this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHFEcyUNBjg
Biden is speaking today, 11:30am, at the Wake Forest Bio Tech Place on Patterson Ave.
ReplyDelete"The U.S. is not a household, it's an economy."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saw a new bumper sticker. It had a rainbow with the 'stop' symbol on top of it. Wonder what that means?
ReplyDeleteI guess some people are getting tried of people trying to force their way of life on everybody else. Wait a minute, I thought that's what liberals said Republicans were doing?
Like I've said, liberals are the new bigots of our time.
"the new bigots of our time." that would suggest in and of itself that our time also has a lot of old conservative bigots who have been around too long.
DeleteWhich are worse, the old bigots, or the new, hate mongering gay and lesbian bigots? I think the latter.
DeleteThinking has never been one of your strong suits. Thinking is bad for you, Bucky. Remember God expelled his first two students for learning.
DeleteI'm going to revise my comment from yesterday to make it more accurately reflect reality:
DeleteIf you took everything that Buck boy knows and put it in a one ounce glass, then poured in exactly an ounce of water, the glass would not overflow.
People who get tired should take a nap and let it rest. Live longer that way.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bigot, and I'm okay.
ReplyDeleteI sleep all night and I work all day.
MOUNTIES:
He's a bigot, and he's okay.
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
BIGOT:
I cut down trees. I eat my lunch.
I go to the lavatory.
On Wednesdays I go shoppin'
And have buttered scones for tea.
MOUNTIES:
He cuts down trees. He eats his lunch.
He goes to the lavatory.
On Wednesdays he goes shopping
And has buttered scones for tea.
He's a Bigot, and he's okay.
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
BIGOT:
I cut down trees. I skip and jump.
I like to press wild flowers.
I put on women's clothing
And hang around in bars.
MOUNTIES:
He cuts down trees. He skips and jumps.
He likes to press wild flowers.
He puts on women's clothing
And hangs around in bars?!
He's a Bigot, and he's okay.
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
BIGOT:
I cut down trees. I wear high heels,
Suspendies, and a bra.
I wish I'd been a girlie,
Just like my dear Papa.
MOUNTIES:
He cuts down trees. He wears high heels,
Suspendies, and a bra?!
[talking]
What's this? Wants to be a girlie?! Oh, My!
And I thought you were so rugged! Poofter!...
[singing]
He's a Bigot, and he's okay.
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
He's a Bigot, and he's okaaaaay.
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
lunchtime and then some shopping, catch you later.
DeleteGood afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: This is just now coming to Mr. Belmont's attention? The hatred is nothing new. US history is replete with examples of hatred towards anyone new (Africans, Irish, Germans, Italians, Jews, Muslims, and on and on...). Mr. Belmont is correct that the anger should be towards the individual terrorists instead of being misplaced towards all one billion followers of Islam.
LTE 2: Ever since the Constitution was amended to allow for an income tax, there has been debate over what constitutes a "fair" tax. Mr. McQueen is correct that the anger has nothing to do with perks. It has to do with items such as Novant eliminating almost 300 positions to cut costs while paying the ceo $2M a year. It's the perception that all of the hardships of the recession are being carried by the middle and lower classes while the upper middle and wealthy are reaping all of the benefits. Some say it isn't fair for 47% to "pay no tax" (their taxes are withheld which goes to help pay the bills, they just get it all back when they file), but how fair is it for someone like Romney at $25M / year to get a tax break worth millions on the backs of people making $35k who would have to pay more?
LTE 3: That was actually in the 2nd paragraph, not the first line. Mr. Denny sounds more like a dixiecrat who registered D when the D's were the anti-Lincoln, pro Jim Crow party.
LTE 4: Executive salaries are part of the healthcare expense. A large portion of health insurance premiums goes towards similar salaries at insurance companies as well.
LTE 5: It isn't until years after a presidential term ends that an accurate assessment can be made of the performance. I think Presidents can too much credit and blame for the economy's performance. Reagan gets praise for fixing Carter's economy, when in fact it was Fed chairman Paul Volcker (appointed by Carter) who killed the economy to rid the US of inflation's grip by raising IR to over 20%, then brought the economy back to life by lowering it back down to 6%.
LTE 6: How ironic considering Ms. Anderson keeps telling us every month how "bad" Obama is.
Out of curiosity, I decided to check Facebook to see if my suspicions of one Terry Wunkler, who was determined to see the US reign supreme, being a HS kid was correct. It turns I was correct in my assessment. He attends Mt. Tabor. I'd also like to note the passing of one of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury.
ReplyDeleteLTE #2 – “Flying is one of the few times I feel like everyone is on the same playing field. Why? Because if the plane goes down, we all go down together.”
ReplyDeleteWell, not quite. The “experts” have always said that it doesn’t matter where you sit on a commercial aircraft as far as safety is concerned. But a few years ago, Popular Mechanics did a study that disproved that statement.
They looked at all commercial crashes in which there were any survivors and found that those flying in 1st class only survived 49% of the time, while those flying in the back survived 69% of the time, 60% better than those up front.
In several of the crashes, the only survivors were those seated in the back.
So the next time you board a plane, give the 1st class passengers a big smile, then trundle on back to the cheap seats.
If you ever fly to Fiji, take their airline, Air Pacific. They serve, or used to, free drinks to all passengers on the 12 hour flight from LA to Nadi, Ni sa bula vanaka.
ReplyDeleteAnd when you get there, Nataune ni gunuyaqona - Is it kava time? is a most helpful phrase.
DeleteWith a good bag of kava, $1K, and find the right chief, you can lease an island in the South Pacific for 99 years.
DeleteRaymond Burr owned an estate in Fiji. That's where he and his partner would escape the homophobic (at the time) Hollywood. Garden of the Sleeping Giant Over 2000 varieties of orchids. Burr was one of the world's greatest orchid lovers and has many varieties named after him.
Deletehttp://www.destination360.com/australia-south-pacific/fiji/sleeping-giant
Get your own kava ceremony kit here, including two polished coconut bowls"
DeleteKavaKava
lol. The national dress of Fiji is called a sulu, a kind of skirt worn by both men and women. You see business men in skirts wearing neckties all the time. The police wear solid white sulus with ruffles at the bottom.
Deletehttp://www.police.gov.fj/
Delete"The national dress of Fiji is called a sulu"
DeleteTakei no doubt approves.
I follow him on facebook, his posts are always hilarious.
DeleteOH MY!!
Delete"It's OK to be Takei!"
ReplyDeleteAs bad as our recent bigot amendment debacle makes NC look, there are three states that make us look plumb progressive.
Tennessee seems permanently rooted in ignorance, from the Scopes trial of the 1920s to the most recent idiocy...if we just don't mention evolution and gayness, both will go away.
And Texas (with the exception of Austin, Galveston, Padre Island and Big Bend National Park)is a horrendous place...they lead the world in executions and they want to remove the word slavery from their school textbooks and replace it with indentured servitude or guest worker.
Rick Perry wants to secede and I say let him. Let's see how they like a war with the boys south of the border...within six months Texas becomes a new nation, the Democratic Republic of Drug Cartels.
But Kansas has to be the worst. The home of Westboro Baptist Church, and the legislature actually passed a law declaring ID a science. Kansas is one of the flattest places I've ever seen, but it is a veritable mountain of ignorance.
When Dorothy said "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore", Toto should have yelped "Hallelujah!"
Sometime back, the legislature in some backward state considered decreeing the value of pi to be 3. The measure failed, which was fortunate. Had it passed, all the wheels in the state would have had to become hexagonal, would have made for a bumpy ride.
ReplyDeletehmm, a bigger pi, that was always my grandmother's motto.
DeleteGood one, Stab!
ReplyDeleteFrom "The Straight Dope: Fighting Ignorance Since 1973 (It's taking longer than we thought)":
"It happened in Indiana. Although the attempt to legislate pi was ultimately unsuccessful, it did come pretty close. In 1897 Representative T.I. Record of Posen county introduced House Bill #246 in the Indiana House of Representatives. The bill, based on the work of a physician and amateur mathematician named Edward J. Goodwin (Edwin in some accounts), suggests not one but three numbers for pi, among them 3.2, as we shall see. The punishment for unbelievers I have not been able to learn, but I place no credence in the rumor that you had to spend the rest of your natural life in Indiana."
Had that passed, it would have been a particular problem for Indiana, since it would really be the dickens to drive a lap at the Indy 500 at 230 MPH on octagonal tires. I doubt if even A.J. Foyt would have been up to it.
As it turns out, Indiana is right up there with Tennessee, Texas and Kansas in the dumbness sweepstakes. In the 1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan had its highest membership ever, Indiana had more members than any southern state.
Indiana is still today a a part of the "Bible Belt". But here's the irony...whereas we live in a region where there is a church on every corner, Indianapolis is known nationwide as the city that has a strip joint on every corner.
Having attended an Indy 500 and a US Grand Prix race there, I can attest to that fact.
Ah, I wondered why the Pacers looked so happy even when they lost to Miami.
ReplyDeleteWhen KA governor Brownback was a Senator, he lived at the "C Street Center," run by secretive fundamentalist group known as the fellowship.*
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(Christian_political_organization)
*The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power [Hardcover]
Jeff Sharlet
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete