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In response to "Driver with 3 DWIs cited in fatal crash" (July 27):
Stop drunk driving: Put a breathalyzer in every car
Years ago someone came up with a breathalyzer for cars. If your blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit the ignition would not start. There was such a hue and cry over the loss of our "freedoms" that the idea of universal use was abandoned. What freedoms? The freedom to drink, drive and kill?
Wake up, world. If your daughter was needlessly murdered you'd want this device in every car in America. Get to work and put this in place.
Noelle Banser
Cornelius
In response to "Payroll tax is long overdue, but politicians don't have courage" (July 27 Forum):
Want an N.C. commuter tax? Then turnabout is fair game
Forum writer Ms. Henri Rumph wants a payroll tax on those of us from outside Mecklenburg. If such a tax passed, I'd propose to the leadership of Lancaster County that we levy a tax on Mecklenburg residents who come to South Carolina to purchase less expensive fuel. Or, tax the hundreds of bicyclists from Mecklenburg who cause traffic delays on weekends in north Lancaster County.
Michael T. Frye
Indian Land, S.C.
In response to "Leaks of war files could hurt U.S. case" (July 27) and related articles:
Mistakes made in Vietnam are being repeated in Afghanistan
The writer, a retired U.S. Air Force major, is an Afghanistan veteran .
We fought in Vietnam for "homeland security." We lost that war, just as we are losing in Afghanistan. In Vietnam, we believed "air superiority" could defeat the enemy. In Afghanistan and Iraq we have believed our "technical superiority" would carry the day. Alas, the $3 IED has proven that folly.
Vietnam gave us Gen. William Westmoreland; Afghanistan gave us Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Both were pretentious, preening, political eunuchs, grossly incompetent at best, criminally negligent at worst. Finally we have WikiLeaks, the modern incarnation of The Pentagon Papers. Oblivious to the concepts of "just" and "necessary," we have lost both wars.
When will it stop? Will we ever learn?
John F. McKinley
Kannapolis
Only positive about the Afghan war: Vets are being honored
When Vietnam veterans returned, the public blamed those of us in uniform for our involvement in the war - as if we were members of the administration rather than simply men and women serving our country.
Today I'm thankful we have come to the point of being able to disagree with the policies of the administration while being able to genuinely support our troops. That we are welcoming home our brave men and women in uniform from Afghanistan and Iraq as heroes of a grim and deadly war may well represent the only positive to come out of the Afghanistan war.
Dan Laurent
Charlotte
In response to "Spratt: Debt is 'mammoth undertaking'" (July 18 Viewpoint):
Voters fed up with not being able to take Spratt at his word
The writer is an S.C. state senator opposing U.S. Rep. John Spratt in the November election.
I read with interest Editorial Page Editor Taylor Batten's July 18 interview with my opponent, U.S. Rep. John Spratt. As Congressman Spratt talked about how bad our deficit and spending problems are, I kept wondering if he would acknowledge his role in their creation. But he failed to mention that he voted to spend a trillion dollars we don't have on Obamacare, or that he voted for a massive new energy tax, or that as budget chairman he failed to even offer a budget that would show taxpayers how much Washington plans to borrow and spend.
There are many reasons so many people in South Carolina's 5th District want a new person in Congress. And one is that folks are tired of Washington politicians saying one thing and doing another.
Mick Mulvaney
Indian Land, S.C.
In response to "Our beaker is about to boil" (July 21 Viewpoint):
Join the fight to reduce carbon soot at N.C. construction sites
The writer is director of the N.C. Clean Diesel Campaign.
Thanks to Nicholas Kristof for calling attention to the role carbon soot plays in melting Himalayan glaciers. Diesel pollution from trucks, buses and construction equipment covers glaciers with soot, making them less reflective and accelerating melt.
The N.C Clean Diesel Campaign advocates for the adoption of policies to clean up diesel on public construction projects. Taxpayer money should not be used to pollute the air. "Clean construction" projects upgrade older diesel equipment, use cleaner fuels and limit idling, which reduces project costs and improves air quality. Diesel pollution has a solution. Let's use it!
Phil Rossi
Charlotte
In response to "City shows hunger for convention" (July 28):
Going to be hard for the DNC
to pass on all Charlotte offers
Charlotte should be a shoo-in for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, versus Minneapolis, Cleveland and St. Louis. We have grits, barbecue, Krispy Kreme, and the Chicken Coop. To my left, Biltmore House and the Grove Park Inn. To my right, the ocean. I wasn't born in the South, but I got here as fast as I could - and they should too.
H.A. Thompson
