Halt the onslaught
The war between Israel and Hamas must end. It was reported that Israel had advance notice that Hamas was planning an attack and chose to ignore this warning. Why? Did Prime Minister Netanyahu decide to use the cover of a counterattack to facilitate the removal of every Palestinian from Gaza? Soon it will be impossible to differentiate Netanyahu’s war in Gaza from Putin’s wanton destruction of Ukraine. President Biden can no longer ignore Netanyahu’s refusal to entertain a cease-fire. He must issue an unequivocal condemnation of this subterfuge. Given the staggering loss of life on both sides, the United States needs to make clear we will not continue to supply Israel with weapons. Netanyahu must halt his onslaught and allow third party negotiators a chance to free all the hostages. I believe the majority of people in Israel and Palestine know in their hearts that co-existence is inevitable. This is the only viable solution that will ensure a decent life for all. Their leaders must now settle this age-old land conflict through peaceful means, not war.
Be objective
A recent editorial was bemoaning the deaths of journalists in Gaza. While we all can agree that properly credentialed and outfitted journalists should be protected, the story ignores the obvious fact that Hamas terrorists, who launched this war with their unprovoked Oct. 7 attack, launch rockets into Israel and attack IDF soldiers under cover of civilian infrastructure. This well-established fact puts the entire Gaza population, including embedded reporters, at risk. Perhaps if these same “objective” journalists had spent more time detailing how Hamas hijacked the entire Gaza civilian economy over the past 16 years for their own objectives of eliminating Israel, this tragic war could have been averted and the Gaza people could have prospered and lived in safety and peace, side-by-side with Israel. That’s the real story here that Arab and Palestinian journalists have totally ignored — to a now terrible end game of war and civilian deaths on both sides.
Wanted: leaders
As Egypt tries to make peace between Israel and Hamas, Netanyahu, emboldened by his raising of Gaza and 20,000 collateral casualties, has threatened Beirut with the same devastation. Would it be considered anti-Semitic for the United States to reevaluate their unconditional support of Netanyahu? If the state of Israel is our closest ally, how should Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon be considered?
Given our 60-year checkered history dating to the Six-Day War and attack on the USS Liberty by Israeli forces, how much will it ultimately cost to arm Netanyahu? Rebuild Gaza? Maybe Beirut? In consideration for the cost of our alliance, would it be considered anti-Semitic to request a redress of grievances by Palestinians being held in Israeli jails without basic human rights?
Tragically, there is a dearth of world leadership today. Netanyahu and Putin have captured the world stage, but the void is much broader from a historical perspective. Time has replaced Reagan, Gorbachev, Thatcher, Began, Sadat and Xiaoping with Biden, Putin, Netanyahu and Xi Jinping. We are left with a renewal of the Cold War, the arms race and war the scale of which we can only imagine as jingoists rattle sabers on the evening news as the rest of the world looks on.
On a scale of historical tyrants, how will Netanyahu and Putin be ranked? How will history judge the United States as an accomplice? Let history be the judge, but send the jingoists to war first and after the jingoists, their children.
Trumps’ way
It has become apparent that anyone who takes any action against Donald Trump is going to get threats towards their lives and, for some, their families. Many supporters within the Republican Party would agree that this is wrong and should not happen. What I hope they will realize is that to support Donald Trump is to support this as a way of expressing objection to those who express their right to make their statements or for judges to make their decisions. How would they feel if they made a statement disagreeing with Trump and they received these threats towards themselves or their families? I sincerely hope that those supporters within the Republican Party will realize that Trump has attracted a group of supporters, terrorists, who are willing to use the threat of violence to scare those who have the right of the Constitution of our country to express their disagreements or , in judges’ cases, the violation of our laws. These are the people who could well decide the best future for our country and their children and their grandchildren.
Out of touch
In 2016, Forsyth County residents voted in favor of a school bond approving $25 million to build a new Brunson Elementary for 800 students. Nine years later, the cost for building Brunson, unfortunately, is now $52 million for just 600 students — due mostly to an increase in the square-footage cost after the pandemic. In a recent meeting, one commissioner lamented about spending $53 million for an elementary school. So, does that mean we should stop building schools and maintaining them, simply because it’s more expensive than 10 years ago? Schools need to be built and maintained, and it’s the county’s mandate to do so. Let’s look at Guilford County, which is building two new elementary schools. Originally built in 1955, Allen Jay Elementary will cost $77 million to rebuild for about 500 students. Claxton Elementary’s rebuild price tag was initially $31 million. However, Guilford County Commissioners approved $19 million more in January 2023 due to higher-than-expected estimates — for a total cost of $50 million for about 500 students. Our children deserve beautiful and built-to-last schools. Sadly, some of our county commissioners seem to be out of touch with today’s realities. Our school board should not have to beg for money. It’s been the case for too long, and it needs to change.
Not partisan
Do you think caring about the climate crisis is a partisan issue? Think again! Tackling the enormous problem of rising carbon emissions is and must be a problem that all political parties care about. This is evident in the Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act of 2023 that our Sen. Thom Tillis (R) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) recently introduced.
According to coons.senate.gov, concrete is the second-most used material on earth after water, and, globally, the creation of 18 billion tons of concrete each year accounts for 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. This bill would direct federal resources to accelerate the deployment of low-emissions concrete and asphalt.
Thank you, Sen. Tillis, for introducing this important legislation to address carbon emissions in the industrial sector. And please don’t stop there. Consider cosponsoring The Big Wires Act, which is legislation that, if passed, would speed up permitting reform and simplify grid updates. It would enhance grid reliability by increasing electric transmission capacity between regions. With all the new clean energy projects starting up, the US is on the path towards energy abundance and independence if we can only make it easier to get the energy to where it’s needed. Please, Sen. Tillis, help move this crucial legislation forward.
Kill it
I am proud to stand with the NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty in asking Gov. Cooper to end death row and for us to work for equity. North Carolina has the fifth largest death row in the nation with 136 people facing execution. One study estimated that each execution costs NC $2.16 million more than a case that results in a life sentence. More than three quarters of those on death row were tried more than 20 years ago, before a host of reforms designed to ensure fair trials and prevent wrongful convictions. Nearly half of the people on death row were sentenced by all-white juries or juries with only a single person of color. Twelve innocent people have been exonerated from North Carolina’s death row since the 1970s; 11 of them are people of color. It’s time to lead our state towards solutions that are fairer, deter crime and make our state safer, and the death penalty fails on all three counts. In the spirit of faith, equity, and community, let’s end the death penalty.
No thanks
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