North Meck was misled before about rail, so I won’t support a new transit sales tax

Transit tax

The writer of “Transit tax,” (Feb. 19 Forum) wants a signed agreement from Norfolk Southern. I want honesty from those in charge of transit.

Those in charge of the half-cent sales tax in 2007 misled us, saying the money would help build a rail line to north Mecklenburg. I voted for that because I was foolish enough to believe what those in charge of transit said. I will never vote for additional sales taxes.

I live in north Mecklenburg and I will drive to Iredell County to make major purchases to save on sales taxes. Keep raising sales tax and more and more people will do the same.

Perry Hayes, Cornelius

COVID relief

Many of the Carolinas’ disabled individuals rely on home-and-community-based services (HCBS) to survive in their communities. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, too many community service providers are lacking the funds to stay open.

Congress is creating a new COVID relief package. The House has allocated funds for HCBS in its plan. Senators must include funding for HCBS in the final version of their relief package. It will save the lives of many disabled Americans, especially those living in group settings where COVID-19 is spreading quickly.

Max Franke, Fort Mill

Burr’s censure

Regarding “State Republicans vote to censure Burr, a petty move sure to hurt party,” (Feb. 17 Editorial):

I agree with the Observer Editorial Board that it was a mistake for the state’s Republican Party to censure Sen. Richard Burr. Not only is the censure of a lame duck politician meaningless, but it plays right into the hands of the Democrats’ hope to divide the Republicans. The GOP can support the policies President Trump enacted, but move on with a younger, less divisive leader.

Tim Eichenbrenner, Charlotte

Why Trump lost

The greatest threat to America and our democracy is not a pandemic, but rather an arrogantly proud, hubristic ignorance shared by some Americans.

Thank God more Americans are intelligent enough to distinguish a horse from horse manure.

The earth is not flat, we did land a man on the moon, Elvis and Hitler are dead, and Bin Laden was killed. And now for the big one: Donald J. Trump lost the election to Joseph R. Biden Jr. because most American had had enough of Trump and his lies and wanted a better America.

Dorman Winkler, Granite Falls

The Texas grid

The Texas governor does nothing other than tell a big lie when he blames outages on the New Green Deal, which isn’t an actual policy.

Wind energy performed better than gas and oil during the Texas storm. The real root cause is the privatization/deregulation of energy production and distribution in Texas. Years of neglect and under-investment led to this disaster, proving that not all government regulation is bad.

John M. Beyer, Charlotte

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz was just trying to be “a good Dad.” What was he teaching his daughters? It certainly wasn’t responsibility. It wasn’t empathy, or showing how to do the job that he was elected to do.

He left his constituents to fend for themselves during one of the worse hardships to befall the state of Texas. He decided to take a warm vacation in Cancun while thousands of people were freezing and dying.

He will not be nominated for being Dad of the year and certainly not for being a good senator for the people of Texas, Shame on you, senator.

Barbara Cody, Charlotte

Rush Limbaugh

The death of Rush Limbaugh was a sad day for radio media across the country. As loved by the right as Limbaugh was and as reviled by the left as he was, he delivered a necessary balance in the media.

He provided a strong, opinionated view that drew 15 million listeners. I hope the right is fortunate to find another courageous, smart and charismatic radio voice to lead us on in the fight to save our country.

Trigg Cherry, Charlotte

No fan of Rush

While I send condolences to Rush Limbaugh’s family, I cannot say I was a fan of his. He would demean and debase anyone. Look at his attack on Sandra Fluke.

I could never discern his underlying philosophy of conservatism. He seemed to be like an unleashed Rottweiler, attacking everyone and everything.

Compare him to William Buckley Jr. One may not agree with Buckley, but he was articulate, well read, and asked cogent questions. The only time he truly attacked anyone was Gore Vidal.

The conservative magazine The National Review is Buckley’s legacy. What will be Limbaugh’s legacy?

Augie Beasley, Charlotte

Hunting contest

If you’re a hunter and on Facebook, you’ve likely seen all the ads for this weekend’s Carolina Coyote Classic.

Some on Facebook are even taking bets on who can kill the most animals. Last year’s contest killed 220 coyotes in a weekend.

I’m glad to say that I don’t know a single hunter who will be participating in this contest. This is the kind of thing that makes every hunter look bad.

We need the support of the general public to keep hunting traditions and this is not going to accomplish that.

Joseph Mates, Indian Trail

This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 4:22 PM.