That group
I'm trying to remember — what's the name of that group that wants to replace civil law with religious law? And what's the name of that group that wants to curtail voting by people who don't agree with them? The Taliban?
No, these things are being done by our own Republican Party. Think before you vote.
MARQUIS WILLIAMS
Winston-Salem
She sees clearly
Elisabeth Motsinger is the one candidate from North Carolina's 5th District who has the intelligence, integrity and foresight to help begin to restore faith in Congress. I have known Elisabeth for about 18 years and have observed her as a friend, mother, professional and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board member. To each activity in her life she applies herself with dedication and compassion.
Frankly, I have no idea why she isn't exhausted all the time; but she's always friendly, warm and appealing. Yet Elisabeth Motsinger is not a starry-eyed optimist. Let's call her a starry-eyed realist. She has no illusions about the difficulty of working in a legislative body that is now so dysfunctional. But it is precisely because she sees so clearly how our world could be better that she should be elected in the 5 th District, to put her heart, hands and head to the task of legislating for the greater good.
DAVE MOFFATT
Winston-Salem
Several things
The national debt will continue to spiral and the country will keep sliding toward socialism as long as people, communities and businesses scramble for more government handouts rather than make an effort to help themselves and others. What happened to responsibility?
If Mitt Romney is elected, he will blame President Obama for the mess he inherits, as Obama has blamed President Bush before him. Only Bush has been sadly silent in not putting the blame where it started and that is with the Democratic Congress he contended with during his last two years.
I hope and pray there will be more bipartisan cooperation. “Come, let us reason together.”
Finally, my personal greatest concern is the backsliding of our country morally and spiritually. The Almighty must be disgusted with his people, who are called by his name.
“In God We Trust.” But in God do we obey? Please keep praying for America, “One Nation Under God.”
BOB G. TANNEHILL
Winston-Salem
Found to be fair
I am a retired probation-parole officer and have observed Forsyth District Court Judge Victoria Roemer while she was a district attorney and a judge. I currently reside in Davie County, but, if I was eligible to vote in Forsyth County, my vote would be for Victoria Roemer. While her rulings did not always go my way, I always found her to be fair, compassionate and supportive of family values.
C.W. “BUBBA” SOUTHERN
Advance
Grateful for Motsinger
A few years ago Elisabeth Motsinger had the opportunity to speak from the pulpit of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem on Robinhood Road. She spoke from her heart, and she was so moving that immediately after the service I expressed to her how grateful I was that she represented my children on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board.
This week I will be voting for her to be my representative in the U.S. Congress. I believe that she is the most capable, the most worthy candidate for the position, and she will represent all of us ably and with heart. Please vote for Elisabeth Motsinger.
JOY IRWIN
Winston-Salem
Allred and Keever
I have practiced law in Forsyth County for over 21 years. I appear in court about every day. I have had the opportunity over the years to observe both Andrew Keever and Amy Allred as they learn and grow in their practice of law. They both exhibit patience and knowledge in handling a wide array of both civil and criminal matters. They show clear skills in communication and understanding of the laws of North Carolina and the constitution.
Justice requires that a District Court judge should be able to stand as a neutral impartial finder of facts in contested matters. A judge’s only master is the laws of North Carolina and the constitution. They are not police officers and they are not court administrators there to clear the docket. Their job is a constitutional task to fairly and impartially hear every person who comes before them, apply the laws of North Carolina and show the patience and respect every person deserves.
Being a good District Court judge is a difficult job that must be carried out with dignity and respect for the law, the lawyers and the citizens. You see, our system of government and our very freedom depend on it.
Andrew Keever and Amy Allred are the right people to do that job for the people of Forsyth County. Vote for Andrew Keever and Amy Allred for District Court judge.
JOHN BARROW
Kernersville
Endorsing Obama
So, let me get this straight, just to ensure the facts are out there for everyone to see. Warren Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, now owns the Journal and the Journal endorses President Obama. Yeah, we never saw that coming, did we?
But hey, these political endorsements from newspapers just don't have the lure they used to have and all the Journal accomplished by endorsing Obama was to turn even more paying customers away, because Mitt Romney is going to win North Carolina.
MAURICE ATWOOD
Advance
Berkshire Hathaway leaves editorial endorsements up to local editorial boards. Other company newspapers in Omaha and Richmond endorsed Romney.
— The editor.
A great commander in chief
As a U.S. Marine veteran, I would like to thank President Obama for keeping his pledge to close the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. The next step is to close the other long war was soon as possible. We must take care of our returning veterans by helping them get good health care and jobs and help take care of all our heroes.
I would like to thank the Obama administration for helping Winston-Salem obtain a new Veterans Administration outpatient clinic in Marketplace Mall and the announcement of plans to build a new VA facility in Kernersville in the near future. This will bring a lot of good paying jobs and be a boost to Forsyth County and our local economy.
I’m grateful to the president for being a great commander in chief. His actions speak a lot. I hope the people will give him four more years to complete the needed work.
JAMES ROYDICE JONES
Winston-Salem
A good person
I have already voted for Elisabeth Motsinger for 5 th Congressional District and I encourage others to do so as well.
It's not just because we need to remove Rep. Virginia Foxx, who is an embarrassment to North Carolina, but because Elisabeth is a good person with good ideas who listens, engages in civil discussion of issues, and really is concerned about the welfare of all the constituents in the 5 th District and beyond.
Please join me in supporting Elisabeth Motsinger.
ED CARLSON
Winston-Salem
Private interest
Judge Sam Ervin is one of the finest, most knowledgeable judges this state has ever known. I know him personally and he is not a political person, but has dedicated his life to the pursuit of the law. He is fair and firm and does not lean either way in his rulings. He definitely deserves to be elected to the N.C. Supreme Court in this nonpartisan race.
Every voter should be appalled, as I am, that a private interest group is trying to buy this election for Paul Newby, the opponent. He took public financing and is prohibited from taking more donations. How can he be fair when this outside interest group dumps huge amounts of money into his election? It is one thing to buy political elections, but our judges should not be for sale. We need an independent judiciary.
I hope voters will join me in voting for Judge Sam Ervin for N.C. Supreme Court and keep our courts fair and independent.
WILLIAM H. FREEMAN
SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE (RET.)
Winston-Salem
Heart-warming story?
Thanks for your heart-warming story “Saying goodbye to the old digs” (Oct. 14) and bringing to our attention the plight of the Christensens in our community. A tear came to my eye as I read how this couple has no choice but to auction their stately 14,000-square-foot Georgian residence, with a listing price at a paltry $3.99 million.
My heart sank as I read their woes on parting with 20 years of warm family memories in the formal dining room and exquisitely decorated great room. To make matters worse, the Christensens risk fetching a low opening bid of maybe $1.5 million, because selling at auction may not result in the full listing price. Little wonder that neighbors are concerned that selling at auction with these low figures might render the property as a “distressed, have-to-sell sale” — thus making their own multi-million dollar homes seem troubled. This couple has had to suffer in this grand home several years after sending all of their children off to college, because the market was lacking for their needs in 2009.
Though you could have reported on thousands of homeowners in our community who have lost their jobs, struggle to make their mortgage payments, or have lost their homes altogether, you chose to bring this terrible situation to light. Though you could have reported on the scores of homeless in our community, you decided instead to bring to the attention of the public the plight of the Christensens. Thank you, Journal.
LINDSEY AND EMILY CARTER
Yadkinville
Let's try Romney's plan
The plan for a stronger middle class includes more jobs and higher take-home pay is one reason to vote for Romney/Ryan. The other plan created a deeper recession and hampered efforts for our nation to recover, increased spending and allowed debt to skyrocket. The middle class has been crushed. More than 23 million Americans are out of work and struggling to find jobs; many have stopped looking.
Mitt Romney plans to preserve and strengthen Medicare by restoring the $716 billion in Obamacare cuts to Medicare. This will strengthen the program for future beneficiaries. He also plans to end Obamacare and replace it with a common sense health-care reform — unless we want 21 more taxes to fund this socialized medicine called Obamacare. Anyone interested in more taxes?
We would all like to see America strong again. Bigger government does not mean better government. Bigger government has gotten us nowhere, only further in debt. I care deeply about our history and our future. I am tired of big government printing money we don't have to pay for programs, bailing out failing businesses that should fail all with borrowed funds from China. Our children are left to pay these debts. And the beat goes on. Our future is mortgaged and our children’s' future is in jeopardy.
Americans cannot afford another four years of fiscally irresponsible leadership in our White House. We desperately need strong leadership.
LINWOOD JONES
Winston-Salem
Motsinger’s core values
I agree with the Journal’s editorial board (“Motsinger is best choice for 5th district”, Oct 16). When she decided to run for Congress, Elizabeth Motsinger considered core values of the U.S. Constitution “.... to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity....” Motsinger notes that the common defense comes not only from military might, but also from developing relationships with people of other nations. And that the general welfare includes affordable, effective health care for all Americans, an essential for a good and stable society.
Rep. Virginia Foxx has different core values. Foxx's website says of the Jan. 1 defense sequester, “the consequences will be ‘devastating,’ leaving the United States with its smallest ground force since the World War II era.” Foxx voted against Obamacare when it came before the House in 2010, and has voted 30 times since to repeal, defund and dismantle portions of the law.
Our nation's needs and the nature of threats to our nation have changed since World War II. President Bush responded to the 9/11 attacks with the Iraq war. President Obama ordered a carefully-planned raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. We need a representative who is aware of the current needs of Americans and one who believes our common defense includes diplomacy.
Elizabeth Motsinger's priorities are consistent with our country's needs in this century.
CHARLES E. WILSON
Winston-Salem
An ideal representative
I am writing to support the candidacy of Elisabeth Motsinger for Congress. I have known Elisabeth for many years. Her honor, sense of fairness and diligence make her an ideal representative for us, especially in these times of such great political strife. We in the 5th Congressional District have not been well represented for many years, and I am excited about the possibility of sending Elisabeth Motsinger to Washington, D.C.!
ELLEN BETTMANN
Winston-Salem
LTE #12...Let's try Romney plan.
ReplyDeleteWorsened the Recession? Instead of listening to political rhetoric, you might want to read this: End of the Great Recession
"restoring the $716 billion in Obamacare cuts to Medicare Well the truth is those cuts: While the health care law reduces the amount of future spending growth in Medicare, the law doesn't actually cut Medicare. Savings come from reducing money that goes to private insurers who provide Medicare Advantage programs, among other things. It’s taking subsidies away from insurance companies, taking rebates away from prescription drug company. Is that what Mitt Romney wants to protect? And interestingly enough Paul Ryan protected those cuts in his budget.The money wasn’t "robbed." Yes, my medicare advantage no longer covers massage therapy and gym memberships (I don't think medicare should be paying for those anyway). Since the law was enacted in 2010, average premiums have gone down, enrollment has gone up, and new benefits and lower drug costs continue to help millions of seniors and people with disabilities.
" I am tired of big government printing money" The Federal Reserve is an independent entity and is owned by the BIG BANKS that are required to buy stock in it. Each of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks is organized into a corporation whose shares are sold to the commercial banks and thrifts operating within the Bank's district. Any federal reserve decision to print money is NOT subject to approval by any branch of the Federal Government. All Profits made by the Federal Reserve Banks after dividends are paid, go to the US Treasury.
Romney wants to increase military spending by $2Trillion. Just how does HE plan to pay for that?
He'll pay for it by cutting spending and shutting down Obamacare.
DeleteAnymore questions?
DeleteAnd just how is Romney going to accomplish this?? How will Romney get anything past a D majority Senate?? The CBO has already stated that ACA will reduce the deficit which means a repeal will increase the deficit. So, what $2T in spending is going to get cut when total non descretionary spending comes nowhere near that? Is Romney going to eliminate SS and Medicare spending? How is that going to get past Congress? How is Romney going to make up for the additional $700B that goes back to Medicaid should ACA be repealed? How will any of this increase the demand for goods and services to the point that companies begin to increase hiring? How will all of these govt jobs lost due to the massive cutbacks be absorbed by the private sector?
DeleteThat's just for starters. Once you answer those, I have plenty more.
We await with bated breath Buckboy's response.
DeleteStill waiting, breath a little less bated.
DeleteNot long now until the cows come home.
;-D
DeleteNow back to breathing normally. The cows are home and in the barn. We'll milk them in the morning.
DeleteAnyone expecting a substantive reply from Buckboy on any subject is just pissing in the wind.
All right Bob…I mean Phargo…this has got to stop.
ReplyDeleteIt's bad enough when you mention in passing a breakfast of sweet potato and homemade skillet cornbread. I'm dressing to go to an early meeting and now you've got me obsessed with a sweet potato/cornbread breakfast that I have no way of making happen.
So I go to the meeting and have a perfectly good croissant or bagel or some delicacy from Camino Bakery and some great Krankies coffee, but because I have this image in my mind of sweet potato/cornbread I am irritable and snap at people and they think that I am cracking up and it is your fault, dammit!
But that is not enough for you. Next you are posting a recipe for sweet potato pie. Now I am a Viet Nam veteran, 15 months on the ground and in the air, so a pretty tough customer, used to living on C rations and not complaining, but now you've got me salivating over some down home potato pie?
I try to ignore it, but you're not done with the torture. Why bother with water boarding when you can throw up Salsa with Lime and Sour Cream? By now I'm in a meeting about how to keep juvenile delinquents from becoming adult delinquents, but I'm thinking how I would gladly kill somebody to get my hands on some of that salsa. Is that a good idea for someone trying to help children avoid becoming adult criminals?
Stop it…now!
Of course, I copy all of this and put it in my recipe folder for future development. But this has got to stop.
Since you've got goats up there at Hill Farms, next you'll probably be going on and on about goat cheese.
The fact is, you're a mean man and you're driving me crazy. I don't suppose you'd be willing to share the recipe for skillet cornbread. I've already got a couple, but one more wouldn't hurt.
3 cups self rising Cornmeal
Delete2 medium eggs
1.75 cups of milk/half&half at any ratio
1/3 vegetable oil
loads of freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 400, put all the oil in the skillet and let it heat up in the oven too, the hotter the better
Measure cornmean and add pepper to it, I also like to add the Sage I dried from Ms Stab's herb garden on occasion.
Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl, the add cornmeal/pepper mixture and whisk together
Once vegetable oil and skillet are both sizzling hot, add most of vegetable oil to the mix and whisk together, leave enough oil in skillet to cover bottom, add the mix to the sizzlin' hot skillet and bake for 25-30 minutes (my oven likes 28 minutes). when done, remove skillet carefully ad shake figorously until the cornbread giggles lose in the pan
For lunch I heated up a bowl of black eyed peas left over from the Salsa recipe and crumbled cornbread into the bowl. mmmm,mmmm
Deletelol, funny you should mention goat cheese as I was searching online this am for rennet.
DeleteAHH, we'll have to call the second variety: Top of the Hill Farm's MS. Stab's Pepper/Sage Cornbread
DeleteThe variety is Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten' or Biergarten Sage. It typically blooms in early summer in a dark pastel purple. The leaves of this particular variety normally show as a Cool grey/green color. It grows mainly as a perennial, which means it typically grows best over a long period (from 3 years+). Berggarten is known for its Shrub habit and growing to a height of approximately 30.0 cm (11.7 inches). Spain is believed to be where Berggarten originates and is great for inexperienced gardeners and those that like low maintainence gardens. I have also read that Biergarten Sage infused vodka makes a mean Martini: Infusing Vodka with Herbs a lot easier than one might think!!
It roots easily too. In fact, the plant at MS Stabs grew from a cutting I took from another plant and just stuck it in the ground.
DeleteRiders of the Purple Sage
Delete___Zane Grey
I usually just eat my left over Chick-fil-A sandwich from the day before. It tastes especially good knowing that I'm pissing off a bunch of liberals.
Delete"Now I am a Viet Nam veteran, 15 months on the ground and in the air, so a pretty 'tough customer', used to living on C rations and not complaining........."
DeleteRush
_______
Rush is always good for a daily joke.
I don't think floating around on a 'Frigate' off the coast of Vietnam, playing who's going to be bunk boy tonight, counts as a 'tough customer'.
DeletePhargo: will I have to wait a long time for the bread to giggle?
ReplyDeleteROFLMFAO, no and it jiggles when it giggles too.
Deletelol, I needed that, I've been in an exchange of ideas with Deb.
DeleteExchange of ideas with Deb? I know you're an atheist Bob, but God bless you.
Delete;-D
DeleteI'm laughing as well.
DeleteWas unaware that Deb had "ideas"...just parrot talk like our own resident Macaw.
Good afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: Thinking before voting is a concept beyond the grasp of most Americans because it entails thinking.
LTE 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14: Endorsement
LTE 3: Does Mr. Tannehill even know what socialism is? All of "this" started long before Nov. 2006 and the blame lies with far more than any one President or Congress. No one was forced to buy an unaffordable house using a 3 or 5 year ARM that made it affordable for just those 3-5 years, but greed makes people take really foolish risks. I do agree on the hope and prayer for greater cooperation, but don't hold your breath. I just don't see it happening. This is not a theocracy. China is an atheist country that practices infanticide and they have fared well the last 20 years. Worry about your own moral shortcomings.
LTE 7: Before posting an LTE, make sure you have some clue about what you're posting so you don't have to worry about having your post corrected on the spot.
LTE 11: Did the Carters even read the article? The Christensens weren't selling out of necessity. Their children were out of the house, they didn't need all that space, so they are downsizing. Is this spite out of envy of what the Christensens have? It is a spectacular estate (had no idea there was that much money in wood molding!) that is up for auction just like Junior Johnson's. We didn't see any complaints about the coverage Johnson's estate auction received. We don't need to see gloom and doom on every newspaper page do we?
LTE 12: What plan? ALL POTUS's want more jobs with higher pay for the country's citizens. That's a goal not a plan. A plan entails specific actions, how those actions will be carried out and what the expected results will be given various contigencies. Even with a plan, it still has to get past Congress which is too divided to agree to anything. All of Romney's (or Obama's for that matter) proposals will either linger to die in some sub-committee or will fail to reach the 60 vote margin in the Senate. Btw...the Fed Reserve and US citizens are by far the largest holder of US debt, not China.
Hal Christensen, the seller of the house, was for many years the CEO and largest stockholder of wood molding manufacturer TI Industries in Lexington. At its height, TI employed about 350 workers.
DeleteThe company managed pretty well against the Chinese competition, but succumbed to high gas prices and the sinking Bush economy in August, 2008.
I went to school with their kids. Didn't know them too well, but I certainly wish them all the best.
DeletePretty much all of the houses in the Bent Tree area just aren't my taste...waaaaaaay too much. There's something to be said for understated elegance, in my opinion.
I drive by that house almost everyday, and I had always wanted to know who owned it, so the article satisfied my curiosity and more. I saw in the Journal today that the owners had postponed the auction in hopes of attracting more bidders. It's a beautiful, big house which is proving the old adage that it's not wise to own the largest most expensive house in the neighborhood even if it is Bent Tree.
DeleteYou can easily find out who owns any building and a lot more, such as what they paid for it, see pictures and floor plans, square footage, etc.
DeleteJust Google "Forsyth NC tax", go to Geo-Data Explorer...you can double click on the map to zoom in on a particular property or just type in the address.
Dotnet, Susan said the same thing when she read the article about the absolute auction, didn't know there was so much money in moldings. I have met Mrs. Christiansen, a gracious lady she. Their property may be a bit much by most of our standards, but I'm sure that the folks who were paid to build and landscape didn't think so, or the follow-on folks who maintain and service, and certainly not the utilities who serve it. Then there are the caterers for those nice parties
DeleteFor those who haven't had enough lies and ignorance during the current political campaign, here are a couple more:
ReplyDelete"...floating around on a 'Frigate' off the coast of Vietnam..."
The US Navy had no "frigates" (FF or FL) in Viet Nam. The only ships of the line used in that conflict were one BB (battleship), several CVs (aircraft carriers), and a number of CGs (cruisers), DDs (destroyers) and DEs (destroyer escorts).
Ignorance is as ignorance does.
"Last night I announced to the American people that the North Vietnamese regime had conducted further deliberate attacks against U.S. naval vessels operating in international waters, and I had therefore directed air action against gunboats and supporting facilities used in these hostile operations. This air action has now been carried out with substantial damage to the boats and facilities. Two U.S. aircraft were lost in the action."
___LBJ, message to Congress, 5 August 1964
A whole set of lies, based upon LBJ's ignorance. The events referred to occurred on August 2 and August 4 in the Gulf of Tonkin.
On August 2, the USS Maddox (DD-731) reported that she had been attacked without provocation by three North Vietnamese Navy patrol boats. Later, an official US Navy investigation determined that Maddox had fired on the three patrol boats in international waters at a range of 10,000 yards, thus provoking a brief and negligible naval skirmish.
On August 4, Maddox reported a second attack by North Vietnamese Navy patrol boats. That attack never occurred either. The only NVN vessels in the area were conducting salvage operations on the NVN patrol boats involved in the August 2 incident.
Johnson's use of the term "further" was also a lie. There had been no previous incidents.
On the basis of these lies, the US military was committed to a full scale war in Viet Nam. At its peak, over half a million American soldiers, sailors and airmen were actively serving in the combat zone.
Over 58,000 Americans were killed, and over 300,000 wounded. About 1,700 are still unaccounted for.
Somewhere between 2 and 4 million Vietnamese were killed and an unknown number wounded.
As always, America's greatest enemy is its own people's ignorance. Lies always have consequences.