On the southern border and Ukraine, US lawmakers are getting it all wrong | Opinion
Put USA first
I live on a limited income and I feel for the people at the border trying for a better life. But I would tell them, go back to your own country and fight for you rights. You are putting a burden on our country.
Also, we should not fund Ukraine. Take care of the USA first. I know I can’t lose any more of my money to tax increases. Let other countries fight it out and we deal with the winners.
Rosemary Markham, Morehead City
Bombing in Gaza
The unspeakable atrocities perpetrated by Hamas on Oct. 7 can never justify Israel’s retaliatory slaughter of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians. Based on reliable accounts, the vast majority of victims are women and children.
The indiscriminate bombing of Gaza cannot be justified by Israeli assertions that Hamas is using civilians as shields. The Israeli army has not offered any evidence that their bombs are precisely targeted with any reasonable expectation that any Hamas terrorists will be killed.
While the terrorists deserve to be brought to justice, if not killed outright in the course of valid military pursuit, the Israeli campaign increasingly appears to be driven by vengeance rather than justice. That risks doing profound and lasting damage to Israel’s moral standing.
Dick Robinson, Chapel Hill
Capital Blvd.
The writer is editor of the Wake Forest Gazette.
I support Gov. Cooper, but I disagree with one sentence in his Dec. 3 Opinion piece, when he said the state is building “resilient and efficient roads.” NCDOT has spectacularly failed Capital Boulevard from Raleigh to the Franklin County line for 20 years and counting. NCDOT began planning to improve the road in 2003 to a six-lane, limited access freeway. In late 2022, they lost funding for all but one section — I-540 to Durant — and never had funding for the last section.
Capital Boulevard is an essential road — part of the nation’s first highway, U.S. 1, which runs from Canada to Key West. It deserves better than the fumbling, inefficient, indifferent-to-need bureaucracy that NCDOT is currently.
Carol Pelosi, Wake Forest
Santos expulsion
It’s important for our country and democracy that our congressional representatives support and obey the law, as well as hold all members of Congress accountable. Congressmen Dan Bishop and Patrick McHenry, both of North Carolina, failed that responsibility when they voted against expelling George Santos, and they need to be held accountable. Though McHenry has announced he won’t run again, remember these votes when you consider who to vote for in the next election. Votes need to matter.
Stephen Berg, Chapel Hill
ACC playoffs
Regarding “FSU’s exclusion from CFP a travesty for football and ACC,” (Dec. 4) and related articles:
It’s hard to believe that the ACC got snubbed on N.C. State athletic director and selection committee chair Boo Corrigan’s watch. He let us down. The conference. The teams. The players. The fans. He should have resigned on Sunday morning and refused to deliver the biased opinion of the selection committee.
The ACC has been forever damaged.
Michael Markham, Tallahassee, Fla.
Mark Robinson
The writer is communications director for N.C. League of Conservation Voters.
When I see wildfires and droughts spreading across North Carolina, I wonder what will inspire our leaders to act.
As a young professional, I’ve dedicated my career to protecting the environment because I understand the gravity of the consequences we will face due to climate change. But leaders like Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson continue to ignore climate science, calling it “junk science.”
According to a poll by the N.C. League of Conservation Voters Foundation, approximately 60% of North Carolinians recognize the rise in extreme weather events, and 53% link these events to climate change.
By ignoring climate change, Robinson ignores families crippled by rising energy bills, economic losses from rising seas and communities overwhelmed by increasing natural disasters.
To protect future generations, we must reject Robinson in 2024.
Ty McFarland, Raleigh
