A betrayal by Democrats followed by heaps of praise for Kamala Harris? | Opinion

A betrayal

A lot of praise is being heaped on a presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, who did not win any primary votes and who has held no press conferences or interviews. This is coming from a party that ruthlessly dispatched the current president because they thought he would not win — yet many in the party knew of his flaws for the past two years, maybe longer. In all of the enthusiasm, there is no discussion at all of this betrayal to Democratic voters.

Richard Boyle, Charlotte

Attack ads

As usual, all political attack ads should be carefully scrutinized.

Kamala Harris was never assigned the role of border czar. She was tasked with visiting Central American countries to help address the root causes of mass migration. Also, the number of rapes being reported in North Carolina began to increase several years before Josh Stein became attorney general, and that was part of a national trend as more victims became willing to come forward.

Arnie Grieves, Huntersville

Dan Bishop

In the last two weeks, I received multiple mailings from the Dan Bishop campaign that all say the same thing. Dan wants to require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. Multiple investigations have shown this not to be a problem.

An audit of the 2016 elections by state investigators caught 41 voters — out of 4.8 million — who cast a ballot even though they were a citizen of another country. All of them, the audit said, were lawful U.S. residents. No election was altered.

Bishop seems to be hoping fear and xenophobia are more important to voters than common sense.

Vincent Keipper, Concord

Teacher shortage

Regarding “CMS announces 293 teacher vacancies before classes start. How will schools cover openings?” (Aug. 22):

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is short nearly 300 hundred teachers. Schools without enough teachers have been asked to submit plans to the central office on how the vacancies will be covered.

As a retired educator, I can tell you that teachers will have to give up their precious planning periods to cover these empty classrooms. Once again teachers are being taken advantage of in our state. In addition to spending their own money for classroom supplies, they are being asked to work longer hours for less money.

People need to stop the hand-wringing about whether we can attract more teachers. Pay them more and give them the respect all professions deserve.

Augie Beasley, Charlotte

School investors

Regarding ‘Demand like never before.’ Why millions are flowing to NC charter schools from investors,” (Aug. 19):

Private equity investments in charter schools... Who could have seen that coming? So henceforth, to satisfy the insatiable appetites of investors for profits, either the amount spent by the state for education and the taxes which fund education will have to rise, or the amount spent actually educating our children will have to fall. I suspect it’s too late to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Thomas Strini, Spencer

Digital price tags

Regarding “Kroger has alarming plans for digital price tags, lawmakers say” ( Aug. 16):

This article on Kroger’s plans should frighten all shoppers. Surge pricing, facial recognition cameras on every shelf, customer profiling by age and gender in every aisle — makes us want to run to the nearest competitor. After shopping at Harris Teeter since 1975, I can’t wait for Publix to open nearby.

Jim Villier, Charlotte

A con man

In the face of overwhelming evidence otherwise, Donald Trump has convinced thousands of followers that the 2020 election was stolen. He performs his cons by spewing continued lies and name-calling. But his statements calling Kamala Harris “dumb” now clearly define him as a bigot.

Here is a man with more than 30 felony indictments who was found liable for sexual abuse, calling one of the most accomplished women in America “dumb as a rock”! This is a person who should never see any public office, much less the White House.

Debs Pedigo, Fort Mill