Winston-Salem Journal LTE TU 02/05/13

Two events

Two events took place recently that perhaps demonstrate more than anything else the moral divide that exists in our country.

Last month, President Obama signed an executive order designed to combat gun violence saying “…when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now.”

Then on Jan. 25, over 500,000 mostly young people from virtually every Christian and non-Christian faith tradition took him up on his eloquent exhortation and actually did something “now” (“Abortion opponents march in Washington,” Jan. 26). They braved the bitter cold to participate in the 40th annual March for Life in Washington D.C., the longest running event of its kind in the history of the United States.

The first event was stimulated by the killing of 27 women and children in Newtown, Conn.; the second was stimulated by the killing of over 55 million unborn children since 1973. Thanks to the media, virtually every American was aware of the first event, but very few were made aware of the second, also thanks to the media.

Of course, this is quite understandable in the era of media thought control. But where are the pastors? How many failed to even mention this event from their pulpits (and will not this coming week)? If it was due to ignorance, complacency or just plain lack of courage, there is absolutely no excuse. Shame on pastors who refuse to speak up for the unborn, much less brave sub-freezing weather to “act now” for them.

ROB HICKS

North Wilkesboro

Cut our losses

The Jan. 30 Journal gave us a synopsis of the White House and Senate points for eventual debate on possible immigration reform (“Obama: ‘Now is the time’”). Both plans included penalties/fines with the Senate version also talking about “back taxes.” This is a non-starter!

I am over 85 with military service in both World War II and the Korean affair. In my long life, a very important thing I have learned is the policy of “cutting your losses.” Do these senators really believe it would be possible to collect such taxes? Good luck!

Any thoughts of trying to collect taxes on previously earned money must be forgotten. The people in question have used any funds already earned in the support of their families and/or remittances to their country of origin.

Or, is this proviso an attempt at a possible road-block? The talk of “they are taking American jobs” is a joke! The services being performed by most of the people involved are those that Americans will not do! Pick fruit? Pick vegetables? Hah! Let’s face it, we need these people.

It is time for the U.S. Senate and House, in the quest to keep their congressional seats warm, to stop pandering to those factions that, in the end, will ruin this country.

J.P. MILLS

Winston-Salem

No need

Let's see. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board turned down a grant for bus cameras to keep our children safe, and another to provide AP classes. I guess the taxpayers and the education lottery provide more than enough to meet our current needs.

I will look forward to seeing what funding the board will request for its next budget.

CHARLES MILLER

Winston-Salem

Potential consequences

Recent news articles have stated that the Boy Scouts of America is considering allowing sponsors of Scout troops to decide for themselves whether or not to continue to exclude gays. I believe an affirmative decision could result in potentially tragic consequences.

I don’t claim to be a prophet, but I don’t think I need to be a prophet to realize that incidents of sexual improprieties between Boy Scouts or between Boy Scouts and the gay leaders of their troops will be extensive if sponsors decide not to exclude gays from their troops.

There is not any doubt in my mind that many gay leaders and gay Scouts will not only engage in sexual behavior with each other, but also will attempt to do so with Scouts who aren’t gay. They would not be able to resist all of the many opportunities. Although some of this type of behavior may already exist, it probably is only a small fraction of what can be expected if gays are no longer excluded from Boy Scout troops.

I have a grandson who may be a Boy Scout someday. If he decides to become a Scout, I would be very concerned about the potential negative consequences on both his emotional health and his psychological health, if the troop he joins includes gays.

I hope every parent and grandparent in our area will do whatever is necessary, but legal, to protect their sons or grandsons from the change in policy being contemplated by the Boy Scouts.

HARVEY ARMOUR

Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem Journal LTE MO 02/04/13

Hagel and defense cuts

I appreciate former-Sen. Chuck Hagel’s service to our country but his views, if implemented, would endanger our national security and inflict further damage on our already-hurting economy.

Sen. Hagel supports defense cuts like those that, according to outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, would guarantee “that we are going to hollow the force and devastate our national security.” Secretary Panetta emphasized that such cuts are “not something, frankly, that anybody who is responsible ought to put into effect.”

These cuts would also hurt our state’s economy. According to a study by George Mason University, sequestration-caused defense cuts would cost North Carolina almost 12,000 jobs. Another report noted that sequestration would inflict wage costs of $650 million on our state, and reduce our domestic product by almost a billion dollars.

Sen. Kay Hagan must do the right thing by our nation and our state and vote against Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense.

REP. DEBRA CONRAD

REPRESENTATIVE, FORSYTH COUNTY DISTRICT 74

Winston-Salem

Icy roads

Why is it when there’s ice in the sky, and the cold is tumbling down and the mess on the road has turned to ice a-la-mode there is not a sand truck around? In fact, as I look all around, no place can a sand truck be found.

Could it be that our road crews have not heard of sand? More likely they use what’s at hand. If we think that it’s cheaper to have wrecks than to sand, then the cost of catastrophes we don’t understand. Perhaps we should take a new look at the real cost of iced roads.

Must people have preventable crashes when just adding sand could prevent lots of smashes? If sand makes it safer for you and for me, then I vote we start using it A.S.A.P.

GEORGE BEDELL

Elkin

On firearms

First of all, there is no way to conduct background checks on an individual sale of a firearm. I do favor background checks on sales at gun shops or gun shows, which should already be taking place.

The emphasis should be put on mental health and training schools and police in how to handle armed intruders.

Finally, harsh sentences should be given to those convicted of using a firearm in commission of a crime. Not just shooting the firearm but just possessing one in commission of a crime.

This will work far better than banning a firearm based on cosmetics. Let’s face it; that is the only difference between an assault weapon and a pretty looking semi-automatic firearm.

MELVIN D. PEMPSELL

Winston-Salem

Renewables pay off

Your recent article on North Carolina’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard and efficiency programs (“GOP targets N.C. green energy policy,” Jan. 28) demonstrates the misconceptions that some people hold regarding renewable energy mandates. I believe it’s time to set the record straight.

State RPS laws have been instrumental for renewable energy development around the country. These policies – often implemented with bipartisan support – were responsible for driving the creation of 33 percent of non-hydro renewable electricity in the U.S. in 2011. This boom has lowered costs and boosted private investment to the tune of over $100 billion.

RPS success stories are not limited to national statistics. Right here in North Carolina, a study conducted for the N.C. Utilities Commission found that passing an RPS law would be $500 million cheaper than using new coal and natural gas or new nuclear power. As a result of our RPS, over 1,100 renewable energy and energy efficiency companies do business in our state. These businesses generated more than $3.7 billion in revenue and employed more than 15,200 full-time equivalent positions in 2012.

With his support for offshore wind energy, Gov. Pat McCrory is demonstrating that private investment, lower costs and renewable energy are not concepts monopolized by Democrats or Republicans. Instead, North Carolina should remain committed to smart public policy that drives innovation and builds an economy for the future. The RPS laws are a prime example of this and should remain in place for years to come.

IVAN URLAUB

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

NC SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ASSOCIATION

Raleigh

Winston-Salem Journal LTE SU 02/03/13

Paying attention

One of your contributors to the Jan. 26 Scorecard, in referring to the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, stated that if a Republican had been president at the time of the attack, he would have been forced from office. She goes on to say that "no one died at Watergate." I don't know what point she was trying to make, unless it is that criminal acts should be acceptable as long as her party commits them and no one dies, but it does give me the chance to wonder if she knows how many U.S. Marines and other U.S. service personnel died in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983, and who was president then.

I would suggest that more attention be paid to Bobby Jindal ("rising star" in the Republican Party and governor of Louisiana) when he states that the Republican Party needs, among other things, to "stop being the stupid party."

All the reports I've read say that 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers died in Beirut and Ronald Reagan was president. He claimed to be a Republican, didn't he?

PAUL D. WHITSON

Advance

Public information

The writer of the Jan. 22 letter "Public permits" sincerely believes that the restriction of access to gun records is analogous to the restriction of a free press. However, the real difference between gun records and journalism is plainly obvious: ownership of a firearm is private business not meant to be aired for public consideration, especially consideration by the more unscrupulous members of our community. True journalism is the reporting of material pertinent to the public interest.

Do we have a right, as citizens, to know which of our neighbors are secretly hiding weapons in their nightstand drawer? Perhaps to make decisions for the safety of our children? I'd humbly suggest that providing easily searchable gun records allows criminals a dream map of homes to, depending on their particular strategy, avoid or invade, contingent upon whether or not there are firearms present in the household.

Yes, it's a fact that permits are public record, but, as Gene Policinski, the executive director of the First Amendment Center, put it, "in the pre-Internet era, much information that was 'public' existed in practical obscurity." So is it, foremost, a safe, and, secondly, practical action to invade these citizens' privacy and publish the names and addresses of law-abiding gun owners, essentially equating them to sex-offenders and other felons?

The privacy of law-abiding gun owners, private citizens in all capacities, is not paramount (or even barely necessary) to the maintenance of a free and democratic society.

RYAN BULLARD

Lewisville

Sum It Up

Will North Carolina’s conservative trend last?

Correspondent of the Week

A little kindness

I’m a conservative, but not the kind you read about in the media.

I believe we should have a small government that doesn’t intrude in our lives, but I include the lives of gay people in that. It doesn’t bother me for them to get married. (There’s no reason they shouldn’t suffer too, I say jokingly.)

I believe in low taxes. Government wastes a great deal of our money, even with revenues as low as they are today.

We need a social safety net. But I believe that we have created a culture of dependency that injures individuals and injures us as a nation. We can’t just throw people out on the street, but we need to do something. It makes sense to me that if unemployment is undesirable, people will do their best to avoid it.

I believe liberals usually have their hearts in the right place, but they fail to see the practical application of their beliefs. And they too often denigrate conservatives without hearing what we really say or checking their facts first. I think the media often distort things.

But I don’t believe everything I see on Fox News.

I’m glad that we have a two-party system; with it, things tend to even out. We don’t swing too far to the left or to the right (if that’s even possible, I say jokingly).

We’re all just doing the best we can. Let’s try to do so with a little kindness.

ERIC WELLER

Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem Journal LTE SA 02/02/13

New safety measures

As a card-carrying Republican I want to remind everyone that a five-star general from World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower, became a Republican president, and at the end of his term warned our great nation of the dangers of a military industrial complex. In my lifetime I have seen this military industrial complex wed the National Rifle Association and launch a most effective disinformation campaign.

The NRA and its corporate spouse, the military industrial complex, have successfully confused a significant percentage of our population by ludicrously pairing the Second Amendment's "right to bear arms" with the alleged right for a civilian to buy and carry assault weapons. I strongly urge your readers to write their elected officials to support the new gun safety measures proposed by President Obama during his Jan. 16 news conference. This includes:

♦ Universal background checks whenever someone buys a gun, whether it is from a licensed dealer or a private seller;

♦ Restoring the ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10 round limit for magazines;

♦ Improving access to mental-health services;

♦ Increasing funding for school security and safety.

Let’s make our position clear to our elected officials, and do not continue to accept the divisive partisan policies that have made our government anything but effective.

BONNIE D. CLARK

Winston-Salem

Latest proposal

I was saddened but not surprised by the GOP's latest proposal to cut unemployment benefits. It is totally in keeping with their “steal from the poor to heap money on the rich” policies. To my amazement, they hide behind the robes of Christ and claim to be for "Christian values" while they crush the poor.

Sadly, I have many friends over 50 who have lost jobs and either cannot find a job or have accepted part time or low wage McJobs to survive. Some have lost their homes and much of their savings. Those lucky enough to be 62 have been forced into retirement, depriving society of their wisdom and skills. It hardly seems like a "culture of dependency" to those living it.

Perhaps the rich and their Republican Party lap dogs can use their ample spare time to practice putting camels through the eye of a needle. It is a skill they will need when facing the God they claim to serve.

DAVID GARDNER

Kernersville

The difference

Question: What is the difference between shooting at an inanimate, stationary target in a controlled environment under professional supervision and shooting at a moving, heavily-armed deranged individual amid a scene of total chaos and confusion?

Answer: Night and day.

JACK B. LUCAS

Winston-Salem

No sympathy

I am responding to the Jan. 27 editorial, "Using finance loophole leads to iffy ethics." In the last paragraph of this article you state: "Legislators are paid miserably." I disagree.

Legislators get their base salary and then they add to that a per diem while they are in Raleigh, including car mileage to and from their homes. This bumps their yearly take to close to and sometimes over $30,000. (Not bad in my book for not working every day of the calendar year. And those who might work close to every day of the year make even more with the extra per diem.)

Most of the legislators have businesses on the side which I am sure they bring home money from. And if legislators are retired from their side businesses, they most likely get a pension every month and a Social Security amount every month.

It is state employees who are paid miserably. If legislators want to whine and cry about their base pay, they do not have to run for re-election. They have no sympathy for the poor, the unemployed, the mentally ill and the elderly in our state, I have no sympathy for them.

DIANA WARD

Boone

Finish the Thought

Briefly complete the sentence below and sent it to us at letters@wsjournal.com. We’ll print some of the results in a few days. Only signed entries, please -- no anonymous ones.

“The new bipartisan push for immigration reform will …”

Winston-Salem Journal LTE FR 02/01/13

Sum It Up

The Sum It Up question from Sunday was: Do you support a state legislative proposal that would prohibit sales of lottery tickets to people who receive public assistance or who are in bankruptcy?

It makes me wonder why those who cry the loudest about government interfering in their private lives and business are so eager to have government tell other people how to live their lives. While I may think that there are more important things to buy than lottery tickets, it is not for me - or the government - to tell anyone else how to spend their money.

DAVID M McMAHON

I would support a proposal that would prohibit sales of lottery tickets to people who receive public assistance or are in bankruptcy as long as they also put restrictions in place for the sale of tobacco products, too, and our state legislature will never agree to that.

SUZANNE CARROLL

I think the prohibition is on the right track. We are just not tough enough on the poor and those facing the hardship of bankruptcy. To really make our point we should make these people wear bright red arm bands so they are easily recognized.

How about coming down hard on children who are on the free lunch program? I think if they are caught eating a candy bar they should be suspended from school for at least two days. We need to face the fact that the condition of poverty is not humiliating enough, and we need to kick people when they are down.

I was opposed to the state lottery in the beginning, and that position has not changed. Many of us were concerned that the people who could afford it the least would use it the most. But the lottery is now legal, and we cannot arbitrarily deny participation to a segment of the population.

Whenever politicians want to demonstrate how tough they are, all they have to do is slam the poor. The poor are usually among the most defenseless in our culture, and they are the most despised. Is there no end to the useless legislation being proposed by our present legislature?

CHARLES FRANCIS WILSON

The proposal reminds me of two things: first, the remark by the last GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, who would like to write-off the 47 percent of the voters whom he deemed to be unable to take responsibility of their personal lives. Secondly, the "small government" crowd, who want to shrink the government to size so it can be drowned in a bathtub, keep on passing legislation after legislation to restrict women’s rights regarding their own health.

Besides, the proposal, if it became law, wouldn't pass the constitutional muster. Probably it would be acceptable to require that public assistance must be used for the purpose stated in the assistance program only.

BOON T. LEE

Please explain how this will work. Will we all be required to present proof of whether or not we receive public assistance or are in bankruptcy if we want to buy a lottery ticket? Or shall we just require everyone receiving public assistance or in bankruptcy to wear a scarlett "PA" or "B" on their coats, or tattoo it on their foreheads?

JANE MOTSINGER

Enforcement, therein lies the rub.

LLOYD V. EVANS II

While the goal of stopping wasteful spending of assistance money is laudable, the reality is this is a right-wing feel-good gesture that is unenforceable. Short of branding someone on welfare or in bankruptcy, how does a lottery ticket seller know what the buyers circumstances are?

I’d rather spend the money on finding the real fraud. Prosecute those accepting EBT for things other than food and prosecute the welfare cheat.

We cannot legislate morality. The lottery and sweepstakes parlors are sucker bets, but legal.

Better yet, don't sell them cigarettes; they spend more money on these, ruin their health and take food off the table. Don't sell them alcohol or junk food. Lunacy.

Let’s get real here, people, let’s get these people back to work and off the dole. Then they can be as stupid with their money as the rest of us.

KEN HOGLUND

Since our General Assembly is determined to suppress voting, why not add minimum income to its list of voting requirements? Also, how about taking away TVs, cell phones, electric toothbrushes, electric blankets, microwaves, dishwashers and all motor vehicles? Heck, I question allowing the poor to have running water or indoor plumbing. They obviously made poor choices and don't deserve any amenities.

As sarcastic as my remarks are, they are no more absurd than the proposed legislation. I keep wondering when these elected officials will act seriously and respectfully on behalf of all North Carolinians.

ANNE GRIFFIS WILSON

That has to be one of the most asinine proposals to come out of the legislature in my 68 years. How on earth would they propose enforcing it? Sounds good, but absurd.

FRANK SCISM

Wednesday, House Speaker Pro Tem Paul Stam backed off the proposal to prohibit lottery ticket sales to people on public assistance or in bankruptcy.

- The editor.

Winston-Salem Journal LTE TH 01/31/13

We can do more

The election is over. The majority has spoken. We who voted for Mitt Romney have had time to grieve and now it’s time to face facts.

Unless something constructive is done, our beloved country is going to suffer. Our government must get tough. We can write to Congress members and demand that they work for the betterment of the country instead of giving in to the easy route.

But that is surely not all we can do. Those of us who believe in our Lord can pray. After all, he is still in control. He doesn’t answer prayer until it is asked for.

So, believers, go to your knees and pray for the restoration of America as a Christian nation.

America was founded on God’s word and based on his word has grown and prospered all these many years. We cannot afford to allow our leaders to drag this beloved country into bankruptcy.

HOLLIE TRIVETTE

North Wilkesboro

Ryan’s friends

Ryan Wood, the 16-year-old sophomore at West Forsyth High School, faced his battle of Burkitt lymphoma with his family, friends and classmates supporting him through showing their love, concerns and prayers (“ Family, friends lay student to rest,” Jan. 13).

Not to take any accolades due Ryan, I want to focus on the awesome position the teenagers took by generating a movement through social media that invited others to pray for him. They moved to the forefront and demonstrated that they are not ashamed of their Christian values. Also, his classmates were not afraid of being ridiculed by praying in school.

By their actions, they got the attention of adults here in Forsyth County and across the state and around the world. Scott Hamilton, a Journal reporter, stated in his article that the movement on behalf of Ryan gained the attention of well-known people like Chris Paul, a former student from West Forsyth High School, who is now a professional basketball player.

Often teenagers are viewed through negative lenses, but by the teenagers at West Forsyth uniting to hold prayer vigils and candlelight services, they taught the community a lesson: Teenagers do care; teenagers are courageous; teenagers have tremendous positive influence.

Ryan’s parents, grandparents and great-grandmother, Nell Scott, are missing him. We can show our admiration for Ryan by continuing to pray for the family and by praising his teenaged friends.

DORIS CONRAD

Winston-Salem

Finish the Thought

Saturday, we asked readers to complete the sentence: “Now that women can serve in ground combat roles in the military …”

“... you can truly tell your young daughters that they can be whatever they want to be if they put hearts and minds to it.”

BOON T. LEE

“… we will likely train our war horses, and tanks, too, to dance to the sound of flute music because people never learn.”

WENDELL SCHOLLANDER

“… there will be fewer and fewer women.”

CHARLES C. STOTT JR.

“… we have a true volunteer military. These brave young people have chosen to defend our country up to the ultimate sacrifice. Now let's do the same for them. I am not an advocate of big government, but we have a moral obligation to do the right thing.

“How can we have the need for a Wounded Warriors charity if the government was doing all it could? Why do we allow local vultures around bases to over charge and cheat our GIs, like that finance company in Fayetteville just pled guilty to? How can we allow our active duty people to be so poorly paid they qualify for food stamps?

“Until they are all home safe and sound, our representatives in D.C. need to get off their sorry butts and stop giving money to study fruit flies and endangered salamanders and take care of our troops.”

KEN HOGLUND

Piglets 1 week old