We need all hands on deck to get the truth

Thanks to Chris Teat for responding to “Graham defends Trumps tweeting and backs Moore” (Nov. 29) with basic tenets underlying the Christian faith – admitting our wrongs, taking responsibility, asking forgiveness, showing compassion, telling the truth.

Franklin Graham’s criticism of the media likewise belies the basic issue – the truth! The media’s job is not to give “equal” coverage to the president or to any politician. Their job is to investigate, to learn the facts, to tell the truth. And until the president can be relied on to give consistently accurate information, not false information, it is the job of the press to call him out. And this should be the job of our faith leaders, as well.

Our democracy depends on it. Our faith demands it!

Pittenger, don’t blur church and state

It is so cynical and sinister that Rep. Robert Pittenger, who is always railing against government intrusion into private matters, sees it as his responsibility as a U.S. Congressman to put Christ back into Christmas. The meaning of the life of the Jesus of Nazareth is only realized when his followers live out his ethical teachings in every part of their daily lives.

To maintain religious freedom it is critical that public office is never used to support an individual faith tradition. Mr. Pittenger’s actions amount to a political stunt to curry favor of one religious voting block.

Think before closing busy street

Dear City of Charlotte, et al.,

Please reverse the decision to close Stonewall from Brevard to Tryon. I understand the requirement to accommodate building contractors’ needs to work on utility relocation, but how about doing this in January when traffic patterns lessen with the passing of the holidays.

With many holiday activities scheduled in December for companies and the community, this closure will negatively affect people visiting uptown during a short-sighted closure of a major uptown thoroughfare. Needless to say, it will cause a high level of frustration.

For once, let’s put the interests of the tax-paying Charlotte citizens above that of major construction projects and contractors. Rescind the closure of Stonewall until January!

Why does it have to be a race thing?

Steve Harrison’s interview with Ex-Mayor Jennifer Roberts listed Vi Lyles as the city’s first American-American female mayor.

ABC was too lenient on Ross

In response to “ABC gets it right” – I beg to differ. What Brian Ross did was to falsely present the “smoking gun” evidence that would invalidate the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. What punishment did Ross receive? A month off during Christmas and New Years holiday. We should all be so lucky. I’ll wager a guess that each member of the editorial board of the Observer will be subject to at least one week off this month. What a grim fate.

What I’m ‘thanking’ Congress for

We should thank Sens. Tillis and Burr, and Rep. Pittenger, for offering Americans the chance to be free of tax deductions so that the mighty job creators may enjoy tax cuts.

Who needs student loan forgiveness or affordable health insurance when they’ve granted expectant parents tax-exempt college funds for their unborn fetuses?

And what are environmental protection and civil rights, when Congress has locked in the security of corporate tax cuts while sun-setting individuals’ paltry tax benefits?

Truly, congressional Republicans have given America a gift. How can we ever repay them?

This story was originally published December 5, 2017 at 6:08 PM with the headline "We need all hands on deck to get the truth."