Our 'war president' isn't listening

COUNTERPOINT: Our 'war president' isn't listening

BY JOYCE DOLAN

I feel I must reply to Tony Moschetti's Counterpoint (Aug. 18). For someone with such a conservative view, he seems to get a lot of his letters in both local "liberal media" newspapers he seems to disdain.

Yes, we on the "left" are aware that Cindy Sheehan has met with President Bush before. There are many news sources - print, TV, Internet - that have covered that point quite extensively, not just Rupert Murdoch's agenda-driven outlets. Maybe Moschetti should check out the Aug. 22 Newsweek, page 36. Or maybe even just check any of the hundreds of news Web sites, both liberal and conservative, which have had more than a mere glance at the subject.

The fact remains that Sheehan would like to speak to the president again. Maybe the shock of the death of her son, Casey, and meeting the president was too much to handle at the time. Or perhaps all that has come to light during the past year has brought up enough questions to make her feel a second meeting is necessary.

I, along with many others, feel he should make a little time to speak to her. He is vacationing in Crawford for 36 days, but he is the "war president." And people are starting to question that war more and more every day. His refusal to speak to Sheehan is just feeding the fire. Wouldn't it be best to speak to her and help kill that spark, at least? Maybe that would further his ability to "get on with life."

The writer lives in High Point.

News & Record
August 30, 2005

Full story on Sheehan not being told

COUNTERPOINT: Full story on Sheehan not being told

BY TONY MOSCHETTI

I feel compelled to respond to Nathan Golden's misguided plea for President Bush to "face grieving mom" Cindy Sheehan. Mr. Golden, as with most of the left, is either vastly uninformed or being blatantly dishonest concerning Mr. Bush and Ms. Sheehan.

Bush met with Sheehan, and other families of fallen soldiers, at Fort Lewis, Wash., in June 2004. After the meeting Sheehan told a local Vacaville, Calif., reporter, "I now know he's sincere about freedom for Iraqis." She followed with, "I know he feels pain for our loss" and added that Bush "gave us the gift of happiness of being together."

Why has no major publication, reporter, columnist, editorial writer or news organization on the left reported those pertinent facts? I think we all know why. The truth does not support their anti-Bush, anti-war and sometimes anti-America agenda.

Simply look at the protagonists pushing this, who say, "Why won't the president meet with this poor woman, and answer her questions." Not a single, supposedly reputable news organization (except for Fox, of course), during their endless hand-wringing, has mentioned the previous meeting or Sheehan's words afterward.

Also gone unreported (surprise) is that the remainder of the Sheehan family is on the opposite side of this issue. Though her husband Patrick has declined to comment publicly, his family issued the following comments: "We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son 's good name and reputation."

They added, "The Sheehan family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq war, and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. The rest of the Sheehan family supports the troops, our country and our president, silently, with prayer and respect." Casey's Aunt Cherie, on behalf of his paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, signed this e-mail.

It is incomprehensible that any legitimate news organization could report endlessly on this issue and not even mention the salient facts stated above. Why anyone in our country today would trust any information coming from our "elite" media without verifying it through other reliable sources is beyond my comprehension. I ask those of you on the left, if the truth is on your side, why are you compelled to continually misreport and distort so many issues dear to your hearts?

The writer lives in High Point.

News & Record
August 18, 2005

Spend a billion more to fix our schools

Your front-page article Aug. 5 detailing the continuing failures of our public schools is disturbing but not surprising. The problem persists because we do not spend enough money on education. Perhaps another hundred million dollars or so would solve the problem. How about a billion? It's also obvious that we have far too few overpaid administrators. Even more surprising is how this can happen with the collection of geniuses we have on the school board.

The crux of the problem is that we test students on reading and writing. Bad approach. Let's test them on the important issues such as self-esteem and the virtues of diversity. The scores would skyrocket.

In the meantime, we need for the Democrats on the board of commissioners to institute an immediate 100 percent property tax increase and put in a countywide lottery so that something can be done about the embarrassingly low $43,000 average teacher salary. Of course, they have to work 10 months. We must also immediately add more administrators, bringing them up to level of the average parochial school system. Then perhaps we could get a quarterly, audited financial report signed by the superintendent (see Sarbanes-Oxley) detailing where every dollar goes.

Tony Moschetti
High Point

News & Record
August 8, 2005

Private property

Contrary to 40 years of lies by liberals concerning their affection for the “little guy”, and claiming to be the defenders of individual rights, the liberal idiots on the Supreme Court have conclusively proven the opposite to be true. I’ve tried for years to debunk these myths of liberal compassion (except for criminals and terrorists) by these elitist hypocrites. This court, sworn to protect the Constitution, has systematically shredded this once sacred document. These fools have sanctioned the inhuman late term abortion of the innocent, while outlawing the death penalty for the likes of the BTK mass murderer. They’ve championed sodomy while striking down the requirement to notify the parents of a 13 year old seeking an abortion. They, incredibly, blessed the recent campaign finance legislation, a blatant suppression of free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment. The latest bit of lunacy from these liberal “injustices” may be the most egregious yet, an attack on private property rights, the cornerstone of a free society.

These elitist fools, without even a whimper of protest from the elitist liberal media, also self-proclaimed defenders of the common man, have incredulously ruled that government can now take your home, or your business, not to build a road or a park, but to give it to another private entity, such as a wealthy developer who wants to develop your land for his or her private enrichment. Un-elected judges have seized control of our country. They have decided that they will be the arbiters of how our society will function. These elitist slugs believe that they know better than us how our land should be used, or how best our money should be spent. The tyranny of judges must be stopped just as the tyranny of a similar Monarchy was stopped 230 years ago.

Tony Moschetti
High Point, NC

June 27, 2005

Reparations

The latest bit of lunacy coming from the buffoons, referred to as County Commissioners, screams out for all of these locoweeds to be elected countywide. Whoever began the idiocy of minority districts should be deported. We have people with access to our wallets that couldn’t get elected dogcatcher in mainstream America. These districts would elect O.J. Simpson or Michael Jackson if they had the chance. I’m tired of being governed by some people whose sole qualification for office is the color of their skin. Worse, one of these clowns gets to play chairman. This folks, is reparations at its worst.

I wonder what percentage of the taxes that fund our county comes from these minority districts, and what percentage is used directly by these districts. Let’s have a countywide vote on how many of us actual taxpayers want our already ridiculously high taxes raised again to fund a civil rights museum or a pay raise for these clowns. Now we are told they were just kidding about 250, 000 that they need another 6 million. It is truly time for a taxpayer revolt in Guilford County. Start with permitting only taxpayers to vote!

Tony Moschetti
High Point

June 25, 2005

Social Security

Is there no end to the hypocrisy of liberal Democrats? From 1998-2003 we heard Clinton, Sandy Berger, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Madeline Albright, Bob Graham, and Ted Kennedy, and others, talk of the WMD possessed by Saddam. They warned of the danger posed by this FACT. Then in 2003 they told us that George Bush LIED to us about the WMD, despite having had access to the same intelligence as Bush, who unlike his predecessor, acted on the intelligence.

In 1998 Bill Clinton spoke of the need to fix Social Security. Senator Moynihan spoke often on the subject. Senator Reid in 1999 said he had no problem with private accounts as part of Social Security. Bill Clinton later named a bi-partisan panel led by Senator John Breaux to come up with recommendations to head off the coming crisis. Clinton ignored the recommendations. He was not about to tackle any serious, difficult problem, including terrorism. Former Senator Bob Kerrey has spoken extensively on the need for reform. Now the Democrats are again opposing something they once supported, saying there is no problem. I’ll bet they now even oppose peace between the Israelis and Palestinians!

Tony Moschetti
High Point

February 10, 2005

Liberals change tune about Social Security

I am not an expert on the massive Ponzi scheme called Social Security, but I am an expert on dishonest, hypocritical, liberal Democrats who insist there is no coming crisis.

They had a vastly different take in 1998 when Bill Clinton spoke of the Social Security crisis and the Washington media lap dogs took up the mantra.

David Broder of the Washington Post wrote extensively on the crisis. Clinton said that all of his administration's economic achievements were threatened by the looming fiscal crisis in Social Security. This was his response to those who insisted on cutting taxes because of a projected large budget surplus.

In September 1998, Vice President Al Gore, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. Ted Kennedy, among others, held a pep rally on the Capitol steps to save Social Security. Each, in turn, parroted, "Save Social Security first," as they warned that the future was "dire" if something wasn't done. Now, seven years later, with nothing having been done by Clinton or Congress to fix this "serious fiscal crisis," these same people vehemently insist there is no crisis. Is this attitude change due to stupidity, dishonesty, or both?

Tony Moschetti
High Point

News & Record
January 21, 2005

Democrats self destruct

For 10 years now I’ve watched with glee as the Democrats have rapidly self-destructed to the point where they have the fewest members in the senate since the 1920’s. They have gone from being the party of Harry Truman and John Kennedy who believed in a strong defense to deter our enemies, to the party of Michael Moore, Howard Dean, anti-God, pro-abortion, the ACLU whose intent it is to destroy our way of life, and the laughable cartoon characters who make up the Black Congressional Caucus, a group so far out of the mainstream they would need a heat shield to return. These fools led the charge to demagogue the Electoral College vote yesterday. Some of the comments of these fools were right off the far left wing lunatic websites. Scarily, supposedly mainstream Senators Barbara Boxer, and Mrs. Clinton had to follow their lead to mollify their modern day slave constituency, and keep them in line.

One of these loons, Sheila Jackass Lee of Texas told us that she came here as a slave and now has lost her right to vote. Folks, this lunatic is a member of congress. Maxine Waters began her mindless tirade by thanking Michael Moore for bringing us the truth about 9/11. Mr. Moore, and his thoroughly discredited film were honored by the Black Caucus at the Democratic Convention. These idiots, answerable to no one, are handed 43 seats in the congress based solely on the color of their skin. They achieve great power and notoriety even though few in any of them would ever be elected to anything in mainstream district. Have you ever wondered why none of them has ever run for a statewide post? For the same reason John Edwards declined to run for re-election. Almost every black elected to a statewide position has been a Republican.

Tony Moschetti
High Point, NC

January 7, 2005

A request to readers to keep your letters a tad shorter - and sweeter

Some of them are regulars.

True to his name, Tony Moschetti of High Point slices and dices anything liberal in sharp, snappy paragraphs.

Dr. John Bumgarner, 92, of Greensboro survived more than three years in a Japanese POW camp during World War II and faithfully has submitted one letter per month since I was a college freshman in 1973.

Recent Ragsdale High School graduate Ashish George is barely old enough to shave but contributes some of the most thoughtful words on these pages.

Still others are one-time visitors who are content to make their points and move on.

Either way, it's comforting to know that in this too-fast, too-busy day and age, some people still are moved or mad or delighted enough to take time to write us.

From school discipline to school choice, dueling deals for Dell to Greensboro 's slippery pact with a pro hockey team, you've kept those cards and letters coming.

Thus far this year, the News & Record has received 5,829 letters, of which
2,824 have been published. Even during a tensely fought presidential election year, that's a lot.

In 2003, the newspaper received 4,350 letters and published 2,270 of them.

During the last presidential election year in 2000, we received 4,624 letters, of which 2,501 appeared on these pages.

Even in this age of blogs and instant messages, many of you still make the effort to connect with us through the old-fashioned way. Some even type them, fold them, slip them into envelopes, stick stamps in the corner and put them in the mailbox.

Other letters come in more creative forms: on index cards, paper bags and even passionately scribbled on the offending articles that inspired them.

Yet most come as e-mails, a format that makes the transition to the printed page easier and faster.

We had wondered if you'd keep writing. There's much more competition for your attention, including the exciting new world of blogs (which also are coming soon to the editorial pages), Internet message boards and the News & Record's own Reader Advisory Network.

But the growing numbers do present a problem: We try to publish as many letters as we can. But there's only so much space in the paper. Even when we make room on the Second Opinion pages for spillover letters, some readers are not pleased; one of their favorite op-ed columnists might be pre-empted.

So we're making some changes that we hope will help ease the crunch.

For all letters submitted on or after Jan. 1, the maximum length will decrease from 250 to 200 words. This will allow more letters to be printed each day without infringing on the Second Opinion page. It also will allow for livelier, brisker letters columns that contain more voices and more variety day to day.

Some may blanch at the notion that we shortened the length of the readers'
voices in the paper while not touching the length of the newspaper's voice - the editorials in the left-hand column. But actually, we've already done that. We cut the length of our editorials in April 2001, when the newspaper converted to a slightly smaller format.

Another change we are contemplating is featuring overflow letters in the online version of the newspaper. This would allow for timelier publication during periods of heavy volume, especially election season. We'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, some frequently asked questions about letters:

Does the preface, "I dare you to print this," increase a letter's likelihood of publication?

In a word, no. As long as a letter meets our general guidelines for taste and length, it is likely to be published. We love variety.

Why do you publish plagiarized form letters? We don't do it knowingly. When we come across a suspicious letter we Google it for repeated words and phrases.
The Web site of the National Conference of Editorial Writers also shares alerts on astroturf, as these bogus letters are called. But it's impossible to catch them all. We'd appreciate your help.

Are there any drawbacks to e-mail letters?

More of them seem rushed. The grammar and spelling tend to be sloppier. Also, more and more letter writers are having changes of heart after submitting fiery missives for publication and then thinking better of it.

So more and more of you also are calling us later and saying, in the immortal words of "Saturday Night Live's" Emily Latella, "Never mind."

Instant reactions aren't always the best. Maybe that letter telling a county commissioner what he can do with his budget could be a little less, um, strident.

It might be worth counting to 10 before tapping the "Send" button.

Contact Allen Johnson at ajohnson@news-record.com

News & Record
December 12, 2004

School violence

Why all the hand-wringing, and gnashing of teeth over the continuing violence in our left wing indoctrination camps, mistakenly identified as public schools? It’s obvious the problems are due to lack of funding and lack of diversity, the two most important aspects of our comical education system today. Hey, these folks are simply prepping for a career in the NBA, another monument to the benefits of diversity. A possible short-term fix would be to appoint Ron Artest to head the conflict resolution experiment until the school board can go to court to sue for another five or ten million to pour down this endless black hole.

How did we end with a society where the schoolhouse is one of the most dangerous places you can leave your children? How can an institution with continually increasing funding be such an abject failure? Why are forced, because of political correctness, and total gutlessness of politicians, and school administrators, to put up with the never- ending violence of on small segment of our society? What in the name of heaven is wrong with these people? Are they genetically disposed to violence, or is it a total lack of any kind of decent rearing? This hip-hop culture is dragging our country into the gutter. They can’t even have a televised awards show without violence. It is about time that the so-called leaders of this community stops looking for racism around every corner, and begins addressing the serious problems in their own community.

Butch Davis recently criticized Steve Arnold for a tongue in cheek slap at the problems at the Andrews Correctional facility. Mr. Davis needs to spend more time trying to solve this violence problem, and less time criticizing the one person with the courage to speak out on this ridiculous issue.

Tony Moschetti
High Point, NC

December 3, 2004

Letter writer wrong in assessment of Iraq

Regarding the letter from Tony Moschetti (Oct. 13): He should try living in the current Iraq if he believes that some cities in the United States are far more dangerous places. I doubt if our troops, construction workers, aid workers or journalists share his opinion.

Shame on Tony Moschetti for blaming the "liberal" press for not putting a happy face on such a tragic situation. Sen. Kerry is right on point in his assessment of the existing quagmire in Iraq; however, it appears that Mr. Moschetti is in dire need of a reality check.

Lorraine A. Gail
Greensboro

News & Record
October 26, 2004

Civilian and military war dead are significant

Readers of the News & Record won't be surprised to see Tony Moschetti sinking to a new low of warped Republican demagoguery (letter, Oct. 13).

Moschetti claims that the significance of the deaths of more than 1,000 Americans is exaggerated by the "liberal media" since last year 1,695 Americans were killed in "three of our more famous 'blue' cities, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles."

Moschetti, of course, overlooks the fact that Bush sent Americans killed in Iraq into harm's way based on false, ever-changing premises and without an exit strategy or any understanding of the chaos he would be creating.

Moschetti is, of course, totally unconcerned with the fact that our "crusade for freedom" in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of many thousand Iraqis, mostly innocent men, women and children - numbers that go unreported in the elite media and especially on Fox News.

At least seven more Americans have been killed in Iraq since Moschetti's letter was published.

Keith Cushman
Greensboro

News & Record
October 21, 2004