LTE Forum 03/07/13

LTE Forum WE 03/06/13

LTE Forum 03/05/13

Winston-Salem Journal LTE MO 03/04/13

Winston-Salem Journal LTE SA 02/16/13

A great judge

Forsyth County lost a great judge and a great man with the passing of Judge Roland Hayes (“Farewell to a trailblazer,” Feb. 11). I met Judge Hayes when I was working in Child Protective Services and he was an attorney who volunteered his time to be a guardian ad litem and represent children who were the subject of abuse and neglect petitions in juvenile court.

I worked with him on his first case, where he did a great job for his clients, the kids. We had contact over the years when he was on the bench and once I even had to awaken him in the middle of one icy December night to get his signature on a court order. He was kind enough to never even mention his forsythia hedge, which was severely damaged by our sliding down, and off, his very slick driveway that night. The only thing he ever said about that night was that I was the only woman who had ever seen him in a bathrobe other than his wife, Barbara.

He is also the only person for whom I ever worked a polling place all day on a cold, rainy November in 1998. He was a genuine person, a family man, a man who never had a mean word or act for anyone, and those who thought he was malicious or hurtful to others were either mistaken or just plain wrong. He will be sorely missed by the citizens of Forsyth County.

JANE M. OLMSTED

Winston-Salem

A sweet sound

After 100 years, Republicans have been chosen by the voters of North Carolina to run our state government, and the liberal town criers in the Feb. 10 Journal have lost their minds. For columnist Chris Fitzsimon, perhaps it’s just his short-term memory. He worries about the “gerrymandered map drawer” Art Pope being appointed deputy state budget director (“McCrory’s rough time”). Thanks for the concern, but N.C. District 12 and the term “hypocrite” should prevent any N.C. Democrat with a conscience from even saying the word “gerrymander.”

The state gets serious about paying off $3 billion in unemployment debt to the federal government while building a rainy day fund, and Journal reporter Richard Craver suggests Ebenezer Scrooge has been put in charge of our state budget (“N.C. alone in plan to reject $650M from feds”). The NAACP and 140 other groups rally at the legislative building to assert that Republicans are unleashing a “cruel and unusual” attack on progressive constituents in The Associated Press article “Groups rally over GOP control.” I'm sure Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas would be aghast.

Liberals coming unglued … oh, what a sweet sound!

SHAUN MARTIN

Advance

Stand firm

As I read the outcries from homosexuals and others concerning the policy of the Boy Scouts of America, I am increasingly amazed by their arrogance. I am not an ignorant bigot because I disagree with them. And neither is the writer of the Feb. 5 letter, “Potential consequences,” that has attracted so much of their attention.

There are certain truths that do not change over time or with the whims of society. The Boy Scout oath states “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God ...” God is mentioned first for a good reason. We cannot know what is our duty to God apart from hearing and reading his word — the Bible. It reveals truth about him and also about us.

We are sinners by nature who can only be justified through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is clear in the Bible that sexual relations between anyone other than husband and wife (one man and one woman) is one of many sins common to man, for which we are all accountable to our creator-sustainer. I have my own sins for which I am accountable to him. I do not ask or demand that others accept, condone, excuse or promote those sins.

What homosexuals do in private is between them and God and others they affect. It is wrong to attempt to force their lifestyle on the rest of us. The Boy Scouts of America should stand firm!

CHARLES H. KING JR.

Clemmons

Two stipulations

As a legal immigrant to this country — and now a proud citizen of the United States — I have strong reservations against the amnesty that our president desires for 11 million undocumented people.

During my long and costly naturalization process it was made very clear that the slightest infraction on the immigration laws would void my chances for obtaining citizenship. To me, the many legal immigrants still waiting and those who failed the process and left the U.S., amnesty is easily perceived as a general pardon for political expedience. I also believe that the vast majority of undocumented cases can be solved with temporary farming visas that allow people to travel freely; this would benefit, for example, the Mexican economy more.

I do have two stipulations: If we persist in putting 11 million people on a path to citizenship, then prohibit dual citizenship and make English the official language. Citizenship is not a practical convenience but a commitment to this nation and its language, history and culture.

The presence in the U.S. of millions of new, voting citizens with a strong allegiance to a foreign nation will lead to a fractured society.

PIETER OTTEN

King

Finish the Thought

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

“The president’s use of executive power …”

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens,

The bad end of a Chick-fil-a sandwich and

When the dog bites

When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad.

Winston-Salem Journal LTE FR 02/15/13

The left’s response

It was both interesting and humorous to read the Feb. 8 responses in the Readers Forum to the Sum It Up posit: Will North Carolina's conservative trend last?

From the right, the submissions were brief, respectful and prescient.

From the left, they were about what one can expect. Verbose; why use one word when 10 will do? Name calling; “nut-job Republicans,” “right-wing bullies,” “tea party wingnuts” and “reckless bunch of Pope-picked politicians,” to cite a few examples; a faithful regurgitation of liberal hysteria talking points to events that have not yet occurred and a confusion of the facts by conjecture.

Where does all this whining nonsense come from? From the folks who were in power for well over 100 years. It is directed at those in power for less than 40 days.

Give conservative leadership a chance. You just might be amazed where it will take us.

LYLE WHEELER

Millers Creek

Public safety

This is in response to Rep. Virginia Foxx’s Feb. 5 guest column, “Second Amendment rights ‘…shall not be infringed.’” She aptly quotes, “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state...” At the time it was ratified, we had a meager army, no navy, no marine corps; we had no “well-regulated militia” in 1791. The framers of the Constitution provided that citizens, if called upon to defend the nation, be allowed to keep and bear arms without infringement.

More than 200 years later, our state is defended by a huge military complex, accounting for roughly 20 percent of the federal budget in 2011. Additionally, most of us enjoy professional police and emergency responder protection.

Rep. Foxx is missing the point of history and of those citizens calling for reform. We already spend vastly on security. Does she now believe we need protection from our government? Today we need protection from irresponsible and unstable individuals and from criminal enterprises taking advantage of lax or ineffective regulation of deadly weapons.

She fails in her duty if citizens are threatened because powerful industries or lobbyists are allowed to influence regulations and their enforcement to the detriment of public safety.

Today, in contrast to 1791, we have a strong military to secure our state; now we need legislators with backbone and sound judgment to enact strong and responsible controls on the manufacture, distribution and sale of military-grade firearms.

I am a gun owner.

JOHN DUDLEY

Winston-Salem

Sum It Up

The Sum It Up question from Sunday was: Were the Boy Scouts of America right to take more time for consultation before taking action on its policy of excluding gays as Scouts or adult leaders?

I have known many fine Scout leaders during my seven years as an assistant scoutmaster in my son's Boy Scout troop, so I would like to believe that the recent attempt by BSA national leadership to compromise at the local level on the issue of acceptance of boys of all sexual identities in scouting was well-meaning and intended to allow time for the discriminatory and ill-informed rhetoric to fade and permit them to move scouting in the direction of fairness and equality.

However, the delay in discussion is not the core problem. Discrimination is the real issue, and it must be corrected to right a wrong, restore justice and preserve the pride and dignity of a great altruistic institution, the Boy Scouts of America — for all Americans, regardless of sexual identity.

ALAN J. TOWNSEND

By taking more time, the Boy Scouts of America are just prolonging their discriminatory practice of not allowing gays in their organization.

SUZANNE CARROLL

The Boy Scouts were right in taking time to consider all aspects of this dilemma. There is the fear of pedophilia, but not all gays are pedophiles. After 100-plus years in existence, there had to have been gays in the Scouts at all levels. There had to be incidents of molestation too, known or unknown.

The Scouts have a sacred trust to protect the boys, and this has to be factored into their decision as to how they handle this emotionally volatile situation.

Now, if the Catholic Church had followed this approach there may have been less damage done there.

KEN HOGLUND

What's to take more time about? Either we've learned from Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall or we haven't.

KAM BENFIELD

Winston-Salem Journal LTE TH 02/♥/13

Finish the Thought

Saturday, we asked readers to complete the sentence: “The Obama administration’s drone program has …”

“… been a measured response to terrorism. Consider the alternatives. Our national security is not enhanced by ill-conceived actions similar to President Bush's invasion of Iraq.”

CHARLES E. WILSON

“ … been one of the few successful programs since he took office. Using drones to take out enemies of the United States has saved many soldiers' lives and has been cost effective. If the exact same thing had occurred under Bush's administration, the conservatives would have heaped praise upon him. It's time to put petty politics aside and embrace what works well regardless of who gets the credit.”

STEVE BARNEYCASTLE

“… been consistent with his overall policies. Obama has killed terrorists, killed the economy, killed our future with debt, killed the employment hopes of millions.”

HARRY R. COOKE

“… caused a reversal of arguments by Republicans (except for uber-hawk John Bolton). Republicans usually accuse the president of not being aggressive enough on terrorism but in this case they are suddenly hyper-concerned about civil rights, collateral damage and other silly, sissy issues usually espoused by those ‘dang hippy’ Democrats.

“Hypocrisy? You betcha.”

KAM BENFIELD

“... drawn the ire of the liberal senators of the Congress not because of the drone program per se but because the Obama administration is not forthright with the Congress about the decision-making process of targeting an American citizen for killing even though the person was identified as a terrorist. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon is particularly worried about the fact that president is the lone, ultimate decider to kill an American citizen without going through due process and bypassing congressional oversight.

“I personally don't believe Sen. Wyden intends to save the life of a terrorist but to protect all innocent American citizens. The practice now puts all of us at risk.”

BOON T. LEE

“ ... transformed liberals into raging warriors and conservatives into tree-hugging peaceniks. In American politics, hypocrisy is in infinite supply.”

JAN HUGOSSON

“… resulted in the murder of American citizens without due process. Waterboarding is outlawed and considered torture but murder of American citizens by drone without due process exemplifies the hypocrisy of the left.”

DON WOLFE

“… kept us safer without putting more boots on the ground. Unfortunately, President Obama is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.”

CYNTHIA GOUGH NANCE

“… proved a few things.

“Reality can be so hard on rhetoric and theory. Remember how Obama was going to embrace the world and sing ‘Kumbaya’ around a big campfire at the U.N.? How's that working out?

“He was going to empty Gitmo and fill it with rich people not paying their fair share for his vote-buying schemes. Rich ‘greedy’ people are criminals, poor greedy people are Democratic voters.

“Like all politicians who tell you what you want to hear, he can't tell you the truth about what is really going on. The world is a hard, cold place that does not care about your kid's self esteem, whether someone is getting free birth control or abortions or who you marry. In fact, many people in the world want to see us dead and being humble and apologetic to them just gives them a better shot at his neck as the president bows to them.”

KEN HOGLUND