America and free enterprise
I believe in America and free enterprise. Free enterprise grows best with limited government and sustains the American dream. Washington currently suffocates the American dream.
Our strength is mandatory for our well being, and for the world’s. If we aren’t the leader of the free world, then who will be? Countries in South America? We have been governed by the same constitution for 236 years and we have never been overturned, like other countries. These countries esteem America’s president as the leader of the free world.
We are facing a giant economic crisis, with more worldwide uncertainty. Obama’s policies have made us weaker and less free. His first term was disastrous. Do we want a repeat?
America needs a businessman who launched or rebuilt over 100 companies. The 2002 Winter Olympics were saved from collapse due to Romney. As governor of Massachusetts, the budget was balanced every year with no tax increase — and a $3 billion budget gap he inherited was closed.
President Romney will enable America to grow new jobs and keep the middle class viable. After all, doesn’t the middle class keep America moving forward, and more free?
ELIZABETH S. SMITH
Lewisville
Moving forward
I am writing on behalf of Elisabeth Motsinger for 5th Congressional District.
As a believer in moving forward, it is time for a new perspective. Elisabeth has been my doctor advisor and friend for many years and I can attest to her inclusive and compassionate heart.
Elisabeth Montsinger's work ethic is a huge reason to endorse her. I know she will be working for the good of all and not just her own agenda.
Please, let's shed a new light on our prospects.
JOYCE TETA
Winston-Salem
A fair judge
This letter is to endorse Judge Victoria “Tori” Roemer for re-election as Forsyth District Court Judge. Judge Roemer has been a 21st District Court Judge since she was first elected in 1996.
I have known Judge Roemer since she was attending law school. On weekends she would ride on patrol with me as well as other officers of the Winston-Salem Police Department to learn first-hand the problems facing officers and our citizens. Judge Roemer took these lessons learned to become a fair judge of cases presented before her.
Her opponent, Andrew Keever, is an assistant public defender. To me this is like putting a fox in charge of a hen house. I encourage voters to continue supporting Judge Victoria Roemer when casting their vote for District Court Judge for the 21st District.
GARY LLOYD
WINSTON-SALEM POLICE DEPARTMENT (RET.)
Tobaccoville
Global trade
Webster defines global as: “sphere-shaped.” I don’t believe what is being called “global trade” in our society has a sphere shape. Much of the current definition involves unfair profit and political agreements in which our country should never have become involved. The end results have become loss of U.S. jobs, loss of income for U.S. citizens, loss of taxes locally, state-wide and country wide and have caused global debt and major problems.
It’s past time to pull the dictionary back out and stop destruction everywhere.
HAROLD D. PARKER
Clemmons
Important election
The election on Nov. 6 will be one of the most important elections in generations. The differences in the presidential candidates as well as the two parties have never been more clearly defined. Among the many emotionally laden issues so vigorously debated, there are two that will determine the direction of our country more than all others combined.
First, which of the presidential candidates and their respective parties will be more inclined to preserve and sustain the middle class as well as increase avenues for the poorest of our country to rise to middle class status? Emboldened by Citizens United, the wealthiest individuals and the most powerful corporations of our country have provided hundreds of millions of dollars to the Republican Party as a down payment on a more plutocratic government. Since the Gilded Age in the late 1800s, we have not witnessed as vigorous efforts by the wealthy to gain control of the direction of our country. The survival of a thriving middle class is of paramount importance to not only our economic recovery, but to a secure democracy.
Second, who will appoint the next justices to the Supreme Court? Another Republican appointment will set an even more conservative course for the high court for the next two decades. Can we survive many more decisions like Citizens United?
The words of President Lincoln defined our crisis well when he said, “…that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Vote Democratic!
CHARLES FRANCIS WILSON
Winston-Salem
A sincere public servant
Judicial elections are hard, due to the fact that only limited information (including even party affiliation) is available to most voters. I want to urge everyone to vote to re-elect Justice Paul Newby for North Carolina Supreme Court.
I am not a lawyer, but I have heard Justice Newby at a candidate forum and have briefly met the man twice. Justice Newby struck me as a sincere and humble public servant. I have also heard from some lawyer friends that he is a fine person with an impeccable professional reputation, and I understand that several former chief justices of our N.C. Supreme Court and many attorneys, Democrats and Republicans, have endorsed Justice Newby. Please remember to vote for Paul Newby for Supreme Court.
JOE BURNS
Winston-Salem
Determination
Having known Elisabeth Motsinger for many years, I want to express my hope that this thoughtful, caring individual will be elected to Congress. Her determination, intelligence, resourcefulness and courage were evident to me when I watched her, a young widow with two small children, put herself through a demanding program to become a physician assistant. In recent years, on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board, she has impressed me by her care in listening to all parties, including those who disagreed emphatically with her, as she worked tirelessly against measures that have resegregated our schools and hurt the most vulnerable among us.
If she is elected, I am confident that she will take carefully considered, nuanced positions that will exemplify her good will for all in our district.
JANET S. ZEHR
Winston-Salem
Better judgment
While economic issues are important, we need to consider who has better judgment and will avoid unnecessary wars and who will foster better health care for our citizens.
Before the 2008 election, with the country in economic turmoil, the Federal Reserve turned to the one candidate who had the intellect to truly understand what was happening: Barack Obama. He proceeded to support the middle class with a stimulus and a jobs bill. He championed the Affordable Care Act, expanding health coverage. He saved General Motors (Mitt Romney would not). He will end the Afghanistan War in 2014. He kept American boots off the ground in Libya while still helping.
The other choice is Romney/Ryan. To demonstrate his foreign-policy skills, Romney flew to Israel, where he proceeded to alienate the Palestinians, who said he was out of touch with the realities of the Middle East. In England, he criticized the British’s ability to manage the Summer Olympics. Especially disturbing is that Romney lied about the president in one of his first ads, yet when confronted with the falsehood, he continued to run the ad.
Rep. Paul Ryan then blamed the president for a plant closing that occurred while George W. Bush was president. Ryan also blamed Obama for the debt crisis without mentioning that he, Ryan, voted to increase the debt.
The lies, deceit and lack of poise offered by these men show clearly what a mistake it would be to put them in the White House.
JOHN G. PALMER
Winston-Salem
Name-calling
Did Scott Sexton recently attend a Rush Limbaugh journalism seminar? The name-calling in his Oct. 23 column (“Trader Joe’s came to town without incentives,” Oct. 23) seemed reminiscent of the mean-spirited Limbaugh style. I do not have much firsthand knowledge of Trader Joe’s, but I do know lots of people who are enamored of it and I would not call them “doofuses” or “doofi” or “hipsters” or “yuppies.” In fact, I would not call anybody those names and “yuppies” is a little outdated, by the way.
Possibly Sexton wants to present a “man of the people” image by calling others derogatory names, but name-calling is simply mean and cowardly. Perhaps it was meant to distract from the fact that the two businesses he was comparing in his column are so different, one planned for a tourist part of town (Mast General Store) and the other being in a thriving shopping center (Trader Joe’s). It seems to me that name-calling and labeling is frequently used in the media these days to distract and hinder critical thinking about the issues.
KAREN L. BYRD
Winston-Salem
Deep compassion
Good for Elisabeth Motsinger for making what some individuals would call mistakes in her 20s that have led to her deep compassion and the willingness to devote her life to its service (“Dem had ties to guru,” Oct. 20). To make “mistakes” and then have a track record of constantly reaching for the good for the following 30+ years strikes me as exactly what I'm looking for in a candidate for 5 th District representative.
JENNIFER SNOWHITE
Winston-Salem
Voting for good
Sometimes when I vote, I feel like I'm choosing between the lesser of two evils. When I voted last week, in the race for the 5th District, the choice was clearly between good and evil. I chose good and cast my vote for Elisabeth Motsinger.
KEVIN MUNDY
Winston-Salem
More effective
I have known Elisabeth Motsinger for several years and admire her character, her intelligence and her genuine commitment to good government. While she has been criticized by some as too liberal, her understanding of most important issues is not only broader, but also much closer to the center, than that of her opponent.
For these reasons, Elisabeth would more effectively represent the people of the 5th District.
MARK DULANEY GLEN
Winston-Salem
Sexton good
I really do not care if the Journal places Scott Sexton's columns on the front page, the back page or the middle of the newspaper. The only thing I care about is that they continue to print his columns or “opinions” as some have stated.
ILA HESTER
Winston-Salem
Church support
I was surprised to see a full-page political ad, paid for by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, in the Oct. 21 Journal. It is so obviously an ad supporting the candidates of the Republican Party.
Mitt Romney is pro-life (at least he was last week) and President Obama is pro-choice — how could one miss that? It is OK for the Graham organizations to support whomever they wish (no one is forced to contribute to the organizations); however, if they are going to be political, then their tax-exempt status should be examined. It is a direct violation of church and state separation.
I feel sure this ad appeared in other publications in addition to the Journal, and could only wonder how many shoeboxes Franklin Graham could have filled with that ad money.
President Obama did not get my vote four years ago, but he will get it this year.
JO H. KEY
Winston-Salem
Obama must go
For four years, President Obama has tried to impose upon America his progressive, Utopian vision, one where income redistribution, fairness of outcomes and class warfare are elevated above Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. In Obama’s world, more government programs, regulation and confiscatory tax policies are vital to U.S. success, while his “hope and change” slogan has proven to be merely empty political rhetoric.
Obama’s $862 billion stimulus has failed; his $82 billion bailout of GM and Chrysler benefited organized labor over taxpayers; his $180 billion bailout of AIG primarily rewarded Wall Street; he used $90 billion in taxpayer dollars to prop up now bankrupt “green energy” companies like Solyndra, Beacon Power, Ener1 and Abound Solar, and Obamacare has increased medical costs, and thanks to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, has led to an all-out assault on the U.S. Constitution unprecedented in its 225-year history.
President Obama is not well suited to address the monumental challenges facing our country, like the sagging economy, the threat from a potentially nuclear armed Iran, and a soaring and unsustainable level of national debt. With $6 trillion of additional debt, 23 million unemployed or under-employed Americans, a moribund national economy, business owners who are afraid to expand, lack of real entitlement reform, and mindless federal spending leading our country down the path to financial ruin, I believe that on Nov. 6, all Americans should elect Mitt Romney as our new president.
JOHN S. DALLAS III
Winston-Salem
Political/religious system
Recently I saw where Mitt Romney paid a visit to Billy Graham. Graham pledged his support to help elect the Republican nominee.
I’ve often wondered why the religious right automatically favors the conservative agenda — small government, minimal social safety nets, limited programs for the less well off, etc. I’ve always had the notion that the Christian message was to help the poor and less well off. So I’ve always felt this disconnect with our political/religious system.
To be clear, I personally can live and thrive under this conservative agenda. I’m healthy, educated and have a pretty good work ethic. I do OK for myself. I was born into a nuclear family. My parents were blessed with a ton of common sense. They taught their children well.
But here’s the deal. Not everyone is as blessed as I have been. Members of a lower social and economic class usually have to overcome many obstacles. They often times need some assistance.
I want my government to help those people. I believe that ultimately, the whole of society benefits.
I am my brother’s keeper, I feel, and it sure seems to me that the Democrats embody that ideal.
No real offense intended to my conservative friends.
GARY McCOY
Winston-Salem
LTE #15...Obama must go.
ReplyDelete"his $180 billion bailout of AIG?" "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts." Which calls in to question your other spurious opinions. On the evening of September 16, 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank's Board of Governors announced that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had been authorized to create a 24-month credit-liquidity facility from which AIG could draw up to $85 billion. In exchange for the credit facility, the U.S. government received warrants for a 79.9 percent equity stake in AIG, with the right to suspend the payment of dividends to AIG common and preferred shareholders. 2008! On September 22, 2008, AIG was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. An additional $37.8 billion credit facility was established in October, 2008. As of October 24, AIG had drawn a total of $90.3 billion from the emergency loan, of a total $122.8 billion.
On September 17, 2008, Federal Reserve Board chair Ben Bernanke asked Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson join him, to call on members of Congress, to describe the need for a congressionally authorized bailout of the nation's banking system. Weeks later, Congress approved the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
DeleteChrysler Repays Outstanding TARP Loans
Delete5/24/2011
Early Repayment Comes Six Years before Loans Mature in 2017
115,000 Jobs Added in Auto Industry since June 2009 – Strongest Growth in a Decade
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that Chrysler Group LLC has repaid its outstanding Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) loans. Chrysler’s repayment comes six years before the scheduled maturity of those loans in 2017.
The government bailout of General Motors and Chrysler is one of the most polarizing issues of the presidential campaign. Many Americans wonder why $62 billion in tax dollars went to keeping the two automakers afloat in 2008 and 2009. That's 2008 and 2009.
DeleteGM and Chrysler received TARP money.The Troubled Asset Relief Program was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008.
DeleteLTE #1: Limited government is a fallacy. We turn to it when it suits OUR needs, we condemn it when it suits the needs of OTHERS.
ReplyDeleteWithout SOME oversight from government, free enterprise gives way to avarice. This has been proven by many unscrupulous mortgage lenders who are now having to refund monies they overcharged to homeowners.
Read the fine print on those refund checks, though: "By cashing this check, that rightfully belongs to you, you agree NOT to sue 'Free Enterprise Bank of Avarice' for overcharging you to begin with."
LTE#1...A Plethora of Platitudes
DeleteLast night I tried Bob's cornbread recipe, substituting extra virgin olive oil for the vegetable oil. Worked like a charm (sorry Word Watch).
ReplyDeleteTo my great disappointment, my cornbread did not giggle. Nor did I because my mouth was stuffed with cornbread. That is a good thing, because giggling with a mouthful of cornbread could be disastrous.
I did share with some of my neighbors, a collection of 20-30 something young professional women. Several of them had never had real cornbread before. They did giggle, but then they tend to do a lot of giggling, one of the things that endears them to me.
So that batch is all gone. The world needs a lot more fresh baked pan cornbread and a lot more giggling.
I'm almost afraid to try the sage version.
:), just make sure you use salvia officinalis or you could be bouncing off the walls.
DeletePolitical Insanity
ReplyDeleteYou left the House last year. You once said, “There is absolutely no way to be a full-time parent and serve in Congress.” You had two preteens at home when you went to Washington in 1993. How did you do it?
You’ll love this. One night during the reign of Newt, I called home and said, “Justine, we’re voting on unfunded mandates, so I can’t come home to put you to bed.” Justine, 10 at the time, without missing a beat, said, “Mommy, tell me why staying late to vote on unfunded mandates is more important than putting me to bed?” Two decades later, I still can’t answer that question.
Jane Harman, US Congresswoman, 1993-2011
Interview in the New York Times Magazine, September, 2012
Good AM, folks! Like many people, I watched storm coverage. In addition to torrents of rain and wind, Sandy unleashed a flood of cliches from news readers: superstorm, Frankenstorm, hunker down. And of course, one local reporter after another squinting at camera lights, and leaning into the wind and rain. The torrent of cliches and formulaic stand-ups finally drove me to a "Rockford Files" rerun.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: "I believe in America and free enterprise." - well, bless your heart! "Free enterprise grows best with limited government" - yes, we saw in the 19th century just how well free enterprise works with limited govt...for the owners, that is. The workers...not so well. "If we aren’t the leader of the free world..." - not sure "free world" is relevant today. It's probably more accurate to speak in terms of G8 or G20. The skills that make for a successful businessman do not always translate into being a successful POTUS.
LTE 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12: Endorsement
LTE 4: Sorry, Mr. Parker, but global trade is not only here to stay, it's only going to increase exponentially in both scope and influence. The US has 1/3 billion people(consumers) which means that the other 6 2/3 billion people (consumers) live outside the US. Communication and transportation technology that enables trade to all 7 billion consumers exists, so what company that has products that can be sold worldwide will turn away that many potential consumers? It may not seem "fair", but there's no turning back the clock on this one.
LTE 5: Which party "will be more inclined to preserve and sustain the middle class..."? Not sure either one will be able to. In a rapidly changing economic environment that rewards specific skills, it is incumbent on individuals to recognize what skills are in demand, then procure those skills. Neither party can bring back jobs that no longer exist due to marketplace changes.
LTE 9, 13: Sexton is a columnist who, like Limbaugh is paid to provide opinions. Sometimes those opinions include an assessment of a person which may or may not be flattering. Name calling may seem immature and unworthy of print in a newspaper, but calling someone who acted quite foolishly or does something really stupid a "doofus" does make for a succinct description of someone who chose very poorly in making a key decision resulting in dire consequences. I agree the placement of Sexton's column is irrelevant.
LTE 14, 16: I've always admired Rev. Graham over the years for trying to remain above the partisanship fray by expressing prayer and support for the POTUS regardless of party. This causes me to wonder if these ads and endorsement are in fact Franklin's doing since he has been more partisan in his approach than his father. Getting involved in the political mud can only bring stains...not to mention a visit from the IRS.
LTE 15: Endorsement. Mr. Dallas has a very poor recollection of what actually happened.
Wordly bringing up the truism last night about not owning the biggest, most expensive house in the area brought to mind the saga of the Harmony House. It's located in a neighborhood of $1MM+ homes called Interlaken in my neck of the woods: Kernersville. Even in a development where the Christensen's house would be considered average, the Harmony House, built and named by a psychiatrist couple from India, stands out as a 25000 sq. ft., 35 room, 4 story behemoth. The owners moved into the house, but ran out of money before completely finishing it. They tried to sell it, but the pool of buyers for a 25000 sq. ft. mansion located in K-ville is quite limited (essentially zero), so they too placed it up for auction. The auction took place around the time I moved to AZ 10 years ago, but apparently it did not meet the reserve price, so it sat and sat as a meeting place for the Indian couple's holistic health company. It wasn't until 2008, 6 years after the auction that a European family with ties to NC finally purchased the property. There's no telling how many millions were lost on the house.
ReplyDeleteThanks O.T. for reminding of GEOData, but I pass the side of the house on Shattalon daily. I don't pass it on Bent Tree Road. The newspaper article and Arthur and your comments answered most of the questions I had always had about the house and its occupants.
DeleteEven older, slightly less grand houses cause serious economic problems. Some years ago, a Lowes excecutive bought P. Huber Hanes' 30 room high ceilinged mansion on Georgia Avenue.
DeleteOne of the Hanes, who lives in a downtown condo, told me "He has no idea what it costs to run a house like that. Keep an eye out."
Sure enough, withing six months the exec had sealed off half the house because he couldn't afford to heat or cool the whole place. Less than a year later he sold it and moved back to Wilkesboro.
LTE #1 – More parrot stuff. One wonders how people who believe such ridiculous stuff manage to survive from day to day.
ReplyDeleteWe are now and will continue to be the “leader” of the “free world”, whatever that is, no matter who is elected president.
None of the rest is even worth addressing.
LTE #2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12
Endorsements
LTE #4 – Too late, dude. Once the world economy ball started rolling, there was no way to stop it. There are plenty of jobs around, many going begging for lack of qualified applicants. Those with the gumption to reeducate themselves will do fine. Those who sit home and bitch will die out.
LTE #5 – Every election is the most important election, until the next one.
One good point here…Supreme Court needs moderates, not more loonies like Scalia and Thomas. That alone is a good reason not to vote Republican.
LTE # 8 – Lies on both sides, but Romney is totally dishonest…so much so that his positions on nearly everything change daily. I don’t eat at Mr. Waffle or any other chain restaurant; don’t vote for wafflers either.
LTE #9, 13 – Scott Sexton is something of a boor in real life, but he is paid to be a boor in the pages of the Journal. As to placement of his stuff, that is the business of the Journal editors, not some carping bystander.
LTE #14, 16 – Harry Truman had Billy Graham’s number. He told Graham that he would gladly chat with him in the Oval Office, but that there was to be no preaching. When Graham started preaching anyway, Harry threw him out.
Billy is 93 and probably round the bend…this crap is coming from his jackass son, Franklin. Any body who would decide to vote based on something a preacher says is a fool to begin with.
LTE #15 – More parrot crap.
Have you heard that Mike Huckabee said Obama vote will crumple in hell's fire
DeleteI already early voted for Obama. Guess I'm in trouble then.
DeleteOh well...the company in hell's probably a heckuva lot more interesting.
AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A MITT ROMNEY PARTY 'CAUSE A MITT ROMNEY PARTY...would just suck. Couldn't even make myself write it.
DeleteHere's a perfect example of what a lying scumbag Mitty really is:
ReplyDelete“I saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state, Jeep, now owned by the Italians, is thinking of moving all production to China," he said while campaigning yesterday in Ohio.
No he didn't. He made the whole thing up...but any lie will do when you're desperate.
“Let’s set the record straight: Jeep has no intention of shifting production of its Jeep models out of North America to China,” Chrysler executive Gualberto Ranieri wrote in a statement, using italics for emphasis. “A careful and unbiased reading of the Bloomberg take would have saved unnecessary fantasies and extravagant comments.” Ranieri said the conclusion that it was moving all production to China was “a leap that would be difficult even for professional circus acrobats.”
Maybe for circus acrobats, but not for a professional liar.
Re moderate appointments, mentioned above in regard to the USSC: The jury is out, so to speak on Obama's USSC appointees, but his appointment of Van Jones as green jobs "czar" (a communist czar?), and Craig Becker to bureaucratic posts, and his nomination of Godwin Liu to the judiciary bespeak a less than moderate outlook.
ReplyDeleteCommunist? Sounds like you've been prowling the FoxLies/CNS sites.
DeleteVan Jones was a communist 20 years ago. He was appointed because he is one of the world’s leading authorities on “green jobs”. As it turned out, he had some other issues and has since resigned.
We know why you don’t like Becker. I’m not crazy about him myself, but my objection is about him personally, not his associations.
Liu is much closer in his views to the legal mainstream than are Scalia, Thomas and Alito, all of whom hover near the fascist fringe. I have no problem in restoring a little balance in the judiciary, in fact it must be done.
At any rate, none of these people are currently in office, so much ado about nothing. Mistakes get made, sometimes on purpose, for reasons that we may not fathom.
What I would suggest is, look at the records of the two people he has actually appointed to the Supreme Court, not one of Glenn Beck's boogiemen who was appointed to a totally different branch of government.
DeleteSotomayor and Kagan are both well within the legal mainstream in this country. Kagan's one of the smartest people ever to serve on the court. Are they on the left? Absolutely. But since when was that a disqualifier to be a judge? Like OT said, people like Scalia and Thomas, who want to reverse about 75 years of legal precedent and take us back to the Lochner era, are the true radicals here.
Gary McCoy's LTE:
ReplyDeleteGary is a nice guy and his wife is directing our wedding. I agree with his comment "I am my brother’s keeper, I feel, and it sure seems to me that the Democrats embody that ideal," but not in the sense he means. He is a bit Pollyanna-ish about the Dems, who are just as cynical as their opponents.