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Nation is deep in debt and still president flies off to Hawaii
The phrase “shared sacrifice” has been thrown around by President Obama ad nauseam lately. Unfortunately he doesn’t follow his own advice.
I have a suggestion for him: He might want to start with the $3.2 million plane ride to take a Hawaii Christmas vacation at taxpayers’ expense.
My alternative: How about a 1-hour helicopter ride or 2-hour limo ride to an empty Camp David retreat instead?
We all have to “sacrifice” to reduce our national debt, or do we?
Larry Herring
Indian Land, S.C.
Belmont Abbey birth control fight makes little sense to me
Does Belmont Abbey College prohibit employees from using their salaries to purchase contraceptives? If not, then the college is already providing funds to those who choose to use them for birth control.
How is that different from allowing those employees to be reimbursed through their medical insurance?
Neither method forces anyone to use contraceptives. Employees have the same choice either way.
So why fight for an exemption when they are already paying for birth control? It makes no sense.
I only hope the group carrier is allowed to charge Belmont Abbey higher premiums due to the much greater costs of the inevitable claims for prenatal care, miscarriages, maternity expenses and doctor visits for the resulting children.
David Williams
Columbia
In response to “NRA vows to fight any new gun law” (Dec. 24) and related articles:
NRA denial of link between guns and violence unsettling
NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre’s refusal to believe smart gun laws would cut down on the violence and deaths in our country just confirms that his interest is in the gun manufacturers he works for and not the people of this country.
While the NRA has 4 million members, many of them do not believe that assault rifles and large magazines need to be available for purchase to the public.
We have to start somewhere to get violence under control.
We know Japan has many violent video games, but they have a handful of gun deaths a year due to their gun laws – as compared to thousands who die in the U.S. from guns.
Laura Reich
Matthews
Mexican cartels proof that tighter laws aren’t solution
Mexico has strict regulations on which military-style firearms can be owned only by police and military versus civilians.
Unfortunately, like most laws, their gun laws aren’t adhered to by drug cartels and other criminals, resulting in these thugs often being more heavily armed than the military or police.
Tightening gun control laws will be about as effective as our drug laws. The illegal dealers will get rich, the criminals will still be able to get guns, and the law-abiding citizens will remain the victims.
Les Burns
Waxhaw
Solution lies not in gun laws, but in tougher sentences
Think stricter gun control laws are the answer? Check out the Dunblane school massacre in Scotland in 1996, or the Hungerford and Cumbria massacres in the United Kingdom in 1987 and 2010, respectively. And the UK has very strict gun control laws.
The problem is that the bad guys will circumvent the laws and get their guns, one way or the other. The good guys won’t do that, so gun control laws work against us.
What we need are laws that will ensure the bad guys are permanently kept in prisons or, in some cases, mental institutions, instead of being turned loose by misguided “humanitarians” to roam the streets.
Carl Martin
Concord
Way I read Second Amendment, it’s military’s job to protect us
The Second Amendment says “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
The U.S. military provides that service. Unregulated individuals with weapons of mass destruction do not add to the security of a free State.
Walter Saville
Charlotte
Tea Party will be to blame if we go over fiscal cliff, not Obama
For two years, all I’ve heard was “President Obama isn’t a leader” because he couldn’t cajole Congress into coming around to his way of thinking.
In light of the fact that Speaker John Boehner – as well as America – are being held hostage by members of a small, extreme wing of Boehner’s own party – who’ve stated that they would rather win than work together to solve the problem – maybe the president took the only path available.
If we go over the cliff, the consequences will be the fault of the Tea Party. End of story.
Mark Ciprich
Monroe
What a gift it was to be able to read Doug Robarchek’s tale
I felt like I received an early Christmas gift with the Dec. 23 reprint of Doug Robarchek’s Christmas story, “A lot was riding on Christmas in 1950.”
By the end of the article my eyes were filled with tears, like the first time I ever saw “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Thank you, Rachael Wiggins, for requesting the Observer reprint Robarchek’s personal story.
I sure miss the talent, perspective and wit that Doug always brought to the table with his Observer columns. If he were to ever come out of retirement to do his column again, it would be like another Christmas present!
Mike Parker
Statesville
