Issue should be nonpartisan
Your Oct. 2 editorial “Voter rolls: Purge the names of the dead, but carefully” has little validity. Any attempt to establish a voter ID should be nonpartisan. It should be an issue with both Democrats and Republicans.
The Republicans are for voter ID and the Democrats against it. The Democrats claim many would be unable to acquire voter ID cards. How can this be? These same people can get Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security cards, drivers licenses and food-stamp cards, but can't sign up for voter ID. The Republicans declare illegal and dead people are eliminated from voting privileges. The Democrats know most of these votes would be for their side.
Why then would any reader of the Journal expect its editorials to be for voter ID?
B.H. “TINY” SIMPSON
Kernersville
Four years later
Imagine you own a large company. You realized that it is too big for you to run by yourself, so you have to hire someone to run it for you. Four years ago, you hired a smart guy who seemed to have great ideas, and plenty of spunk. At the time of hiring him, you sat down and explained where you want your company to go. He said, “No problem,” and then went on to promise to do even more.
Now, four years later, you cannot see any accomplishments. As a matter of fact, things are worse. When you ask your new CEO what went wrong, he blames the previous CEO and also says that he can't get some workers to do what he wants.
Now, ask yourself this: Is this the leader my company needs?
Let’s add one more thing: There is a guy who wants the CEO job and has a proven track record for success. What do you do?
TOM RAIF
Lewisville
A fair judge
I met Forsyth District Judge Victoria Roemer in 1988 when she was an assistant district attorney and I was a young police officer. I have followed her career as a prosecutor, magistrate and now district court judge.
I have been in her courtroom on many occasions. I did not always win in her courtroom, but even when I didn't, I found her to be fair and impartial — which is what we need in our courts today.
If you agree with me, I urge you to cast your vote for Judge Tori Roemer.
SGT. KEITH REDMON
WINSTON-SALEM POLICE DEPARTMENT (RET.)
Winston-Salem
A special candidate
I woke up at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning thinking about the name Elizabeth. My first feral cat I tamed and named Elizabeth over 60 years ago. I have a sister named Elizabeth. My wife had an aunt and grandmother named Elizabeth. I have a good church friend and a gardening friend named Elizabeth. I want my 5th District congresswoman to be named Elizabeth, only she spells it Elisabeth, which is special, which she is.
The Hispanic third graders I help with homework have been doing acrostics. My acrostic for Elisabeth is:
Education-board-member
Love-of-neighbor
Integrity
Special
Activist-for-justice
Best-candidate-by-far
Empathy-with-poor
Health-care-provider.
Please join me in voting for Elisabeth Motsinger for 5th District Congress!
THE REV. STEWART ELLIS
Clemmons
A remarkable person
As a resident of Forsyth County for over 28 years, I have watched the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners engage in partisan battles and internal grandstanding and make appointments to boards that benefit limited sectors of the community. In addition, it has wasted money on legal battles that were fruitless, allowed guns in public parks and procrastinated in following through with the clear will of the citizens by delaying action on building a new library.
On Nov. 6, those of us who live in District B will have an opportunity to make a change by electing a remarkable person to this board. Gail McNeill is a candidate who comes to the position with a wealth of experience in the public-school sector, both at the secondary and college levels, as well as 35 years of participation in local community and political activities.
Her positions emphasize the importance of high-quality education for every child, safety for all citizens, including in public parks, efficient government that puts citizens first and protection of the environmental and physical health for all. Her calm, thoughtful, informed approach will be a welcome addition to this board.
Please support Gail McNeill on Nov. 6.
TERRY POWELL
Pfafftown
UNC made it possible
I want to thank the author of the letter “Blue-ribbon panel” (Sept. 30) for informing your readers of the danger to the UNC system posed by Art Pope and his various front organizations, which have advocated sharp cuts in the funding and privatization of the public-education system.
Such cuts would endanger a system that many North Carolinians have used to climb the ladder of success. I'd like to give a few examples: My grandfather, Arthur Link Sr., was a poor preacher's son who grew up in Cabarrus County. He earned his B.A. and Ph.D. at Chapel Hill and went on to produce a prodigious amount of scholarship on Woodrow Wilson, and earn a chaired professorship at Princeton. The public UNC system made all that possible.
And he's not the only kid of limited means who made good because of our state's public-education system. There's William Friday, Francis Collins, Andy Griffith, Michael Jordan and countless others.
Who in this generation is going to be the next Arthur Link or William Friday? We must always be vigilant against attempts by Art Pope and his ilk to weaken an institution that has made our state truly great.
ARTHUR S. LINK III
Winston-Salem
A common theme
In The Readers’ Forum, two beliefs are cited on a regular basis: Belief in the Christian God and belief in limited government.
A common theme used by contributors is that a belief in God is the surest way for the individual to find success while charting out his own destiny. Only those of strong moral character will find success in America. If no impediments such as onerous taxation and funding entitlements for the poor are imposed, then wealth and freedom will abound for those who deserve it. Only the weak and those who lack good morals ask for help. The “rugged individuals” who founded this country escaped religious persecution, threw off the millstone of unfair taxation and tamed the savage western territory.
John Wayne or Gary Cooper? Take your pick, both played the part perfectly.
The true story is a little more complicated and often times tragic.
To all those self-righteous rugged individuals who believe their freedoms are being abridged, that their taxes are too high and that government is the enemy, please move out of the Old Testament and into the New Testament. A careful reading of the Sermon on the Mount is a great place to start.
While you are at it, pick up a copy of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Were Jesus and Tom Joad really a couple of slackers?
GARY BOLICK
Clemmons
Recruiting a new chancellor
The resignation of John Mauceri as chancellor of the UNC School of the Arts presents its board of directors and members of the search committee with a golden opportunity to recruit a top-flight artist-administrator as his replacement. Learning from the past, the new chancellor needs to be hands-on and ever-present on the campus. She or he must be involved in resource (both financial and human) decisions and be collaborative with the faculty and respectful and supportive of student needs above all. With those qualifications, the position of COO which was established to relieve Chancellor Mauceri of everyday decisions can be eliminated, thus freeing up some $250,000 for the richly deserving students and accomplished faculty.
Truth in advertising: I resigned my vice-chancellor position shortly after the last leadership change and accepted a vice presidency of a Jesuit Catholic college where principles were valued over principals.
JON E. YELLIN
Kernersville
Election Deadline
The deadline for letters about the Nov. 6 election is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24.
LTE #1... Issue should be non partisan
ReplyDeleteSocial Security Cards, Medicare Cards, Food stamp cards are sent through the mail. Send everyone a voter ID through the mail. Neither of my grandmothers had a drivers license. I don't think too many people are against the concept of showing an ID to vote, it's just the underhanded, devious manner in which it has been approached. "The Republicans declare illegal and dead people are eliminated from voting privileges. The Democrats know most of these votes would be for their side." You claim the issue should be non partisan, yet your assumptions are completely partisan.
Bob, don't you have to apply in person to receive the benefits from those socia programs though?
DeleteThe writer makes a very powerful point. These people can make the effort to get all of the above hand-outs from the government, and go through the lengthy process in order to get them, but they can't go through the process to get an I.D. in order vote?
It's all liberal hogwash, and their attempt to allow corruption to continue to invade the electoral process, so that they can win elections without integrity.
In sum, it's absolutely despicable behavior by scummy, liberal Democrats.
It is a LENGTHY process, and there is NO end date, unlike an election which is held on the first Tuesday in November. Social Security cards are given out at birth. Why not voter ID? People are waiting in lines to get their voter ID, Social Security and Medicare are not hand outs from the government. They are programs people PAY into and should rightfully expect a return. If one pays premiums for homeowners insurance and one's house burns down, should there be any expectations of the insurance covering the damage? In summary, your woeful opinion is noted.
DeleteIt's all a conservative ruse. "voter ID which will allow Mitt Romney to win the state of PA, done."
DeleteWe've got 11 million people here illegally, we have no idea who is really voting if we don't have voter I.D. laws.
DeleteSome are saying now that Obama is now receiving millions of dollars in campaign funds from foreign nationals. Our system is corrupted. Let's get it corrected through voter I.D. laws and other measures, so that our country can get back to having fair elections.
Having corrupted elections like liberal Democrats want, is un-American.
I'm just glad these sleazy liberals, like Rush, are mostly voting in these throw-away states like California, Illinois, and New York.
DeleteThe fine people of N.C. will correct the error of their ways in 2008, and vote to put Romney in the White House. I predict.
Talk to da chair, bucky, talk to da chair.
Delete#2... Four years later
ReplyDeleteNow suppose your analogy had any practical or real world applications.
LTE#5...UNC made it possible
ReplyDeleteThe first state university to open it's doors, something we should all be proud of....Armistead Maupin, Charles Frazier, Charles Kuralt, Charlie Rose, David Brinkley, James Knox Polk, Peter Gammons, Paul Green, Ray Floyd, Dick Jenrette, Thomas Hart Benton, Thomas Wolfe, Vermont Royster,
The Supremes will take up the issue if colleges and universities can continue to discriminate against white people today.
ReplyDeleteIt should be interesting.
Bob, what's up with these BDs? Can't they control their wives/girlfriends. Everytime I get around these lesbian women, the good looking one of the pair, always gives me a once over, like they want a piece of me.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if they smell Chick-fil-A on me, or they want something else.
Talk to da chair.
DeleteI'd probably get a better response.
DeleteWhere's Rush at? He needs his butt chewed out just for being alive.
They (Democrats) and he (Obama) were/was warned that Obamacare will have a detrimental effect on the economy and jobs.
ReplyDeleteMany CEOs are now saying they will lay off workers in the coming months because of Obamacare.
I just hope the American people wake up, and vote for Romney. We've got to get rid of the 'Obama-nations' that the Democrats have created.
"The economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration," he said in the e-mail. (Track economy under Obama)
Delete"If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company," he says in the nearly 1,400-word e-mail. "Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone."
CEO Siegal, of Wesgate via CNN
_______
Of course, everybody knows how the ham-headed liberals are though. They won't listen.
Ahh, Mr. Siegal, who foolishly decided to build the largest personal home in the US at a time the RE bubble was clearly coming apart, then nearly lost his shirt when the economy turned against him. It isn't Obama's fault that Siegal made stupid decisions. Siegal has only himself to blame.
DeleteWhen you live in the sewer, you get slimy, which leads to associating with other slimy people.
DeleteI have known David Siegel for over 35 years. He is one of the slimiest of the slimy.
His company is called Westgate Resorts, which is misleading from the start. They do outright own a few resorts here and there, but the bulk of their business is in selling and managing time shares, one of the great rip-offs of the last century. Their latest venture is Westgate University, a for profit online university, another area that is getting sleazier by the minute.
In the mid-1970s, my marketing company was hired to try to “save” a floundering time share resort on the Florida Gold Coast. They had over 3500 time share units and had sold only about 15 in the first six months. With our help, they sold out the rest in a little over 4 months.
Early on, our client introduced us to David Siegel, who was just getting started in the business. He was a flamboyant, loudmouthed Mr. Bluster, which is perfect for the shady time share world.
We actually did a project for him. He was a “slow pay” and very unpleasant to work with. So when he offered us a second project, we turned him down, and decided not to do any other time share work as well…too sleazy.
At its peak 15 years ago, Westgate employed about 14,000 people worldwide, but the time share biz had begun a long overdue decline. By 2007, the number of employees had fallen to around 10,000. Time shares, already shaky, were one of the first to feel the great crash of 2008. Today, Westgate has fewer than 6,000 employees. It is a dying business which no one wants to buy, so no matter who gets elected, Westgate will continue to shed employees until it closes for good, probably within the next couple of years.
Of course, Siegel is walking a very thin line legally. His e-mail, sent privately to his employees, came to the attention of the press because an employee felt that his boss was threatening him to get him to vote for Romney, which is, of course, exactly what Siegel is doing.
In 2000, Siegel strongly encouraged his employees to vote for George W. Bush and ran a “big sales campaign” for him. Later, he bragged that he was the one who put Bush over the top in Florida, but when asked what he did to help Bush, he said, “I’d rather not say, because it may not necessarily have been legal.”
Good for you Rush. That's about the most cogent, and coherent piece you've written in your entire time in this forum. It was actually interesting.
DeleteI wish you'd stay on your meds more often. It would make chatting with you much more pleasurable. I don't mind making a fool of you, but I think you'd enjoy it more if you stayed 'in the game' so to speak.
Welcome to the real world, Rush.
Let's see how long it lasts.
I also saw that the Siegels were looking into getting their own reality show. Sleaze personified.
DeleteScott DesJarlais, Pro-Life Republican Congressman And Doctor, Pressured Mistress Patient To Get Abortion, it's always something with these hypocrits. To be a Republican elected official, one must worship The Grover and take the Hypocritical Oath.
ReplyDeleteSecretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Ambassador Susan Rice deny what they said on the record:
ReplyDeleteAs Congress holds hearings on the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the US Consulate in Libya, Hillary Clinton's State Department offers a surprise denial of its own on-the-record comments — including those of UN Ambassador Susan Rice.
__________
I don't know why anyone's surprised? They're Democrats after all. They think it's perfectly okay to lie. Hillary learned from the best.
"There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda," he told the Des Moines Register in an interview posted on the newspaper's website.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: Any attempt to institute a voter id should be non-partisan as well as free (per SCOTUS) in addition to being distributed to all eligible voters within a timely manner so as not to affect the outcome of an election. Voting is a constitutionally preserved right that should not be encumbered. Mr. Simpson's last two paragraphs are TB nonsense.
LTE 2: Like 99% of analogies posted via LTE to the Journal, this one is patently false. There is no correlation whatsoever between the proposed scenario and being POTUS.
LTE 3: Endorsement.
LTE 4: Endorsement. Rather odd way of deciding whom to vote for, but whatever does the trick for you.
LTE 5: Endorsement. I will be voting for a whole new Forsyth BoC.
LTE 6: Congrats Arthur! And a fine LTE to boot. One could also add Phargo as well as myself to the list of UNC grads and Miss StepStab to the list of future UNC grads. Well paying companies want a highly educated workforce. Kill our public schools, and NC will become the nation's armpit.
LTE 7: Interesting analysis. In total agreement on "The true story is a little more complicated and often times tragic." The real life John Wayne / Gary Cooper "rugged individualists" who went off on their own wound up dead at the hands of the natives or the elements.
LTE 8: UNCSA has a chancellor and a COO? Granted, the school is a unique situation. History is replete with examples of great artists who were lousy money managers, however, I find it hard to believe a school would hire a chancellor who would not / could not handle the day-to-day operations. It is understandable that an artist of renown would wish to continue his/her career, however, the demands of being chancellor have to take precedent.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deleteand of course, how can we possibly leave off Wordly and her husband from the list of noteworthy UNC grads? (misspelled grad the first time)
Deletedotnet, we all know you're one of those square head type people. But, don't worry about the spelling issues, most of us are looking for content.
DeleteBucky, you cannot even speak for yourself very well, so cut the "we all know" crap. Argumentum ad populum.
DeleteThanks dotnet! I don't like talking about myself, but I'll brag about my family all day long.
DeleteLet’s add a few more notable former UNC students:
ReplyDeleteErskine Bowles (1967) White House Chief of Staff; Frank Porter Graham (1909) US Senator; Gordon Gray (1930) Secretary of the Army, National Security Adviser (Eisenhower); Charles Duncan McIver (1881) founder of State Normal School for Women ( later Women’s College, UNC-G); Terry Sanford (1939) pres Duke Univ, NC Gov and Sen; Ben Long (1967) one of the best known artists in the world, his combat art produced during two tours with the US Marines in Viet Nam is on display at the Smithsonian, his frescoes are well known around the world, and include two historic churches in Ashe County, NC; Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1941) major beat poet & founder of the City Lights Book Store in San Francisco; a whole slew of major novelists, including Daphne Athas, Russell Banks, Clyde Edgerton, Thomas Fleming, Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain), Kaye Gibbons, Gail Godwin, Richard McKenna (The Sand Pebbles), and Walker Percy.
Alexander Julian (1969); Max Chapman (1966) kicked a dramatic last minute 42 yard field gold in 1963 to beat Duke in Durham, later president and CEO of Kidder, Peabody & Co; Peaches Golding (1976) High Sheriff of Bristol, England; Bowman Gray, Sr (1890) President RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co; John Sprunt Hill (1889) and his son George Watts Hill (1922) bankers and philanthropists; Jason Kilar (1993) CEO Hulu; Hugh McColl (1957) NCNB & BOA; John Medlin (1956) considered to be one of the world’s top bankers when he led Wachovia; Bill Ruger (1940) firearms mfr Sturm, Ruger; Marcus G. Smith, son of Bruton Smith, current Pres & CEO of Speedway Motorsports; John Forsythe (1948); George Grizzard (1949, same class as Andy Griffith); Kay Kyser (1928) band leader; Jack Palance (1949, trans to Stanford); Randolph Scott; Chris Matthews; George Hamilton IV; Furman Bisher (1938); Peter Gammons (1967) sports writer & member of Baseball Hall of Fame; Jim Lampley (1971); Monica Malpass (1983); Roger Mudd; Robert Ruark (1935) journalist and novelist; Tom Wicker (1948); Jeff MacNelly, 3 time Pulitzer winning cartoonist; Jonathan Yardley (1961) Pulitzer journalism; Ed Yoder (1956) Pulitzer journalism; John Branch (1801) Secretary of the Navy; Luther Hodges (1919) Secretary of Commerce; John Mason (1816) US Atty General & Secretary of the Navy; Caleb Bradham (1890) Pepsi-Cola; Hinton James (1798) 1st student to register and my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather.
I think Mick might have cut me if I went with all that.
DeleteJack Palance went to UNC? Huh...who knew? I think Frank Zappa's father attended grad school there as well, but don't quote me on that.
Interestint write-up about the Siegel. The time share biz is about as sleazy as it gets, IMO. Years ago, my former wife and I went to Hilton Head with another couple. While strolling about a shopping area, we encountered a liner for a timeshare outfit that offered us a $50 gift certificate at a nice restaurant if we would attend a timeshare presentation.
ReplyDeleteMy best friend was a tightwad, so he and his wife bit. I said hell no, my time on vacation was worth more than that. My ex- and I went and spent the PM on the beach. When our friends reappeared > 3 hours later, they were mad as hornets. The pitchman had attached himself like a leech, sat 'em through a long presentation and walk-through before coughing up the free meal. My friend had to get a bit ugly with the pest before he'd let go.
Yep...that's how it works.
DeleteOne of the great come-ons was that if you got tired of going to the same place, you could swap out your week with someone who owned a time share elsewhere.
Of course the pitch men always mentioned Waikiki and Rio and Tahiti and such..."just let us know and we'll fix you up". Like someone who has a place in Maui is just dying to come to Myrtle Beach.
That is about 75% of Westgate's business. Scumbag!
A couple who were friends in my CA days had a timeshare on Kauai. That worked out well for them, since there is never a bad time to go, and people would swap the places around HI itself. The tried to get us to buy into that, but I found it just as easy to reserve a week at a resort (not one of Siegel's) and be done with. And that we did on Kauai, twice.
ReplyDeleteI also knew a guy, former car salesman and not a very good one, who got into the business of advertising time shares for owners who wanted to rent or swap. This was in 1990, and the deal was for $100, he and his girlfriend would place ads in newspapers in large cities.
ReplyDeleteThis was very profitable as the cost of doing business was very low. They didn't place any ads. Of course, after a while the authorities took an interest in this mail fraud, and they had to go on the dodge, never heard how they ended up.
Busy day, so little time to combat ignorance, but cannot let this one slip by:
ReplyDelete"Bob, don't you have to apply in person to receive the benefits from those socia (sic) programs though?...These people can make the effort to get all of the above hand-outs from the government, and go through the lengthy process in order to get them, but they can't go through the process to get an I.D. in order vote?"
1. The programs in Phargo's post referred to by Dunce are Social Security and Medicare. Both are "entitlements", which means that the recipient has paid for them via the tax system...thus they are not "handouts". Simply more parrot jabber from one who knows nothing.
2. The procedure for accessing Social Security and Medicare is very simple. When you are nearing the legal age, you go online, fill out a form and click "send".
On or about the appropriate date, your Medicare ID card will arrive in the mail. And on the appropriate date, your first Social Security payment will be deposited in the bank account that you designated on the form.
Of course, the uninformed are welcome to go to the Social Security office and spend a day or so to achieve the same thing. Have fun.
I don't even know where the local office is...nor does anyone else that I know.