Readers speak out

Couple experiences pay-it-forward event

Recently, our car was stranded at Valley Hills Mall with a flat tire. We were in a hurry because we were supposed to care for our young grandsons in less than an hour. We knew we would not make it in time to get them.

This nice couple saw our predicament with the tire and came to our rescue. Douglas Jarrett changed our tire and his wife, Jackie, loaned me her cell phone to make some necessary arrangements for our grandsons.

Thanks to these two good Samaritans, we were on our way in no time to get our grandsons.

It's good to know there are still some wonderful, unselfish people in the world, with no agenda other than to be helpful.

What a Godsend this couple was to us. This was definitely a "pay it forward" event. We hope that one day we can repay this good deed by helping someone else in need.

Thanks again, Jackie and Douglas!

Frances and Edward Eckard
Hickory

Let the law protect and the preachers preach

I keep reading several posts in the HDR about homosexuals and their rights as a citizens of the United States. I also keep reading about how ministers and the church are causing harm to the teenagers and young people by expressing that homosexuality is a sin.

First of all, if one believes the Written Word of God as expressed in the Bible, the homosexual lifestyle is a sin.

As for the civil rights of homosexuals or any person under our Constitution, each individual is entitled to those civil rights and should not be discriminated against for any reason whatsoever.

There should be no civil rights denied to homosexuals anymore than to women, the elderly, unborn babies, poor or rich.

I see a slant in some posts toward religious people and their stand on the issue as being prejudiced. I find that troubling. Civil rights is one thing, but trying to tell a Christian to stop believing the Word is another.

Gays deserve their civil rights and should not be persecuted or denied their Constitutional rights. However, gays should stop blaming the church for their troubles.

Furthermore, a minister of God should not be moved to stop preaching the truth of the Word because it does not agree with what the world says. A minister of God should preach the Word of God. If that steps on the toes of all mankind, so be it.

Judy Mauldin
Hickory

Congressman hasn't learned a thing in 3 terms

I received a letter from Congressman McHenry the other day begging for money.

"Now, liberals want to see me defeated. They don't want our voice upsetting the status quo. They would prefer a Congressman who goes along to get along... who agrees to tax hikes and bad trade deals and massive bailouts of financial institutions.

"I will never be that Congressman. I have heard your voices loud and clear."

Yet, according to an article by the John Locke Foundation:

"Early in 2009, three bills were introduced in the House and one in the Senate to deal with this issue. All members of the N.C. delegation were contacted. Of those who responded, most added they would likely support any bill to stop pay raises, should one come up for a vote.

"The first bill, H.R. 156, would prevent members of Congress from receiving any automatic pay adjustment in 2010. N.C. delegation cosponsors are Reps. Walter Jones, R-3rd, Howard Coble, R-6th; Sue Myrick, R-9; Larry Kissell, D-8th; and Heath Shuler, D-11th. Rep. David Price, D-4th, plans to co-sponsor the bill, according to his spokesperson, and added the decision was made prior to being contacted about his position on this issue.

"Rep. Virginia Foxx , R-5th, is a cosponsor of H.R. 346, that would repeal the law that provides automatic pay adjustments for members of Congress.

"Coble is also a co-sponsor of H.R. 201, that would prevent automatic pay raises for members of Congress in the year following a fiscal year in which there was a federal budget deficit.

"S.B. 102 would repeal the law that provides automatic pay adjustments for members of Congress. Deputy Press Secretary David Ward said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., has voted against automatic pay increases in the past and would do so again. Colleen Flanagan, a spokesperson for Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., said Hagan is opposed to any automatic pay adjustments.

Something is glaringly missing here. Patrick McHenry. Every member of the North Carolina Republican Congressional delegation has co-sponsored one of these bills, including a few Democrats, seemingly except for Patrick McHenry whose name is no where to be found."

Seems our congressman hasn't learned a thing in three terms. There's is only one thing to do; vote him out of office.

Ed Readling
Hickory

Cripple Obama, elect conservatives

For all of the Obama administration's claims that it represents the people of this nation, nothing could be further from the truth. Despite the political earthquake that took place in Massachusetts, President Barack Obama seems content to keep pushing the United States farther down the road in a manner more akin to Venezuela and other banana republics.

In his State of the Union, Obama stated his intention to continue to pursue nationalized health care. Even worse, he wishes to destroy the cohesiveness of the United States military by allowing homosexuals to openly serve. Neither of these priorities mesh with the desires of the American people.

History has proved that radical ideologues, even those democratically elected, can gravely damage the fabric of the nations they rule.

Obama has already caused our national debt to skyrocket, refused to use reasonable interrogation methods to defend our nation from terrorists, and signed into law unnecessary hate crime legislation that could be used to target clergymen who state the Biblical truth on societal issues.

Worst of all, Obama has done nothing to turn around an economy suffering from 30 years of borrow and spend policies that embrace globalization.

The only way to end Obama's arrogance is to cripple his agenda by electing a conservative majority to Congress this November.

Carlton Huffman
Granite Falls

Free federal program can verify status

A Jan. 15 report, "Three Suspects in the U.S. Illegally," inspired several letters to the editor. One urged that rape be the focus, not immigration status; another warned of stereotyping; a third, in response, saw "political correctness run amuck."

What caught my attention? Two of the alleged perpetrators worked "at area restaurants."

"Every employee must have an I-9 filled out," explained an owner-operator. "There's no way for me to verify if the documents are false or invalid."

Background: In 1986, in return for a "one time only" amnesty for 2.7 million illegal aliens, Congress promised future workplace enforcement. The result was the wink-and-a-nod system the restaurant owner describes.

A federal software program called "E-Verify" is now in operation. It's used by 184,000 employers nationwide. E-Verify is free, easy-to use, fast and extremely reliable. Alas, it's voluntary.

A Federation for American Immigration Reform senior researcher tells me, "Not one single worker who is authorized to work in the U.S. has ever been denied employment because of E-Verify."

Quoting Ron Woodward, director of NC Listen, a state-level immigration watch group, "Any decent business owner would use E-Verify if he cared about his country and its citizens."

It's hard to argue with that given North Carolina's unemployment rate of 11 percent (14 percent in the Greater Hickory area).

To learn more, go to the N.C. Department of Labor Web site, www.nclabor.com and click on "E-Verify" in the right column.

Tom Shuford
Lenoir

Right story can result in transformation

On behalf of Lenoir-Rhyne University's Visiting Writers Series, I would like to clarify some of the facts surrounding CNN's Soledad O'Brien's interview with Mitchell Gold on Jan. 28. The main purpose of the event, as with all Writers Series events, was to acknowledge the power and beauty of the written word—in this case Mitchell Gold's book "Crisis."

There were almost 1,000 people in the audience, the vast majority of whom were community members. One could see in the crowd many of the Catawba Valley's most respected and engaged citizens, civic leaders and people of faith — most of whom have attended other Writers Series events.

Many of these same people were so moved by the question an L-R student asked in the Q&A session that you could hear the flow of tears. It was a heroic and historic moment for Lenoir-Rhyne and our entire community. This was recognized by the standing ovation Mitchell Gold and Soledad O'Brien received before leaving the stage.

The interview focused on the 40 stories collected in "Crisis" and what was involved in editing the book. Soledad asked many probing questions about what it was like to meet the people in the book and to hear their stories. Gold's responses were poignant, often involving the emotional impact that the story had on the teller and the listener alike.

So, like all of our visiting writers, Mitchell shared with us the story behind the stories. It is in these moments of honest reflection, when a writer opens up that we see the courage it takes to speak from the heart, especially when dealing with injustice.

Other Writers Series authors have done the same thing, as when Tim O'Brien talked about war or Richard Rodriguez talked about race or Alice Walker about gender.

Of course, the Writers Series seeks to entertain its audience, but more importantly, its goal is to educate and enlighten our community by offering literary programs that celebrate the diversity of our world.

Sometimes hearing the right story at the right time can literally transform us. We are not the same people leaving the event that walked in.

The mission of the Writers Series is to "create a community of readers" because we believe that a community that reads is a better community, and is a more informed, creative, and hopefully tolerant and caring community.

The Mitchell Gold event met and exceeded the goals of our mission.

Dr. Rand Brandes
Director
Lenoir-Rhyne University Writers Series

We cannot ignore that we have choices

Mr. Mitchell Gold goes to great lengths to show what the intolerant, ever-changing bigots of Christianity can do to a group of people and then shares what the infallible, unchangeable truths of psychiatry and science have revealed to us about what was once called "sin."

What he is arguing is if we can prove that the brain, without any choice of the individual, is prearranged in a manner to cause "orientation," then it is no different than eye color or height.

It would not surprise me to find men "oriented" to be alcoholics or murderers. Mr. Gold can write another book called, "Catastrophe: How religious tradition has shamed the adulterer and the thief."

All arguments from the faithful are dismissed because they believe in an ancient book written by old men with an agenda. But, of course, a man writing a book on a behavior being "natural," who happens to have a desire to be free to follow his own proclivities, would not be serving his own agenda?

See where Mr. Gold is leading us? Anything given from birth is not our fault; nor can it be wrong.

Is the Bible silent on such an idea? That sin could be inherent in humanity? The answer is no; the word cries out that we are all born of the flesh into a cursed world. Sinners are begotten from sinners.

Perhaps in anticipation of such a foolish idea, as Mr. Gold has decided to proclaim, the Author of all Wisdom once spoke, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."

Jamie D. Clements
Newton