Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 08.23.15

Police training escalates situations

As a retired police supervisor, I am reminded by the video in the Wes Kerrick case of something I find troubling.

Sadly, the end result was that it made officers paranoid.

Police have lost the important ability to defuse hostile situations with calm language and non-aggressive body language. It is now standard procedure to use the threat of force to take command of every suspicious situation.

When you are dealing with a person who is already suspicious of your intent or who is impaired by drugs or alcohol, the situation can easily escalate.

Voters don’t want a do-nothing Congress

I have long believed the reason a person is elected to Congress is to get things done for the people of their district or state.

Forum writer Jim Cherry says many conservative voters sent Robert Pittenger to Washington “to be strong and stand up against President Obama’s agenda.”

As it stands now there are far too many with that attitude. The result: Nothing is getting done.

Insanity around UNC athletes must end

Stop wasting anymore N.C. taxpayer money defending UNC-Chapel Hill’s lack of institutional control for decades and its policy of admitting academically unqualified student-athletes and keeping them eligible with bogus courses.

If the rest of NCAA universities can play by the rules and regulations and Carolina can’t, then the NCAA should strip Carolina of its national championships and fire coaching staff as punishment for its massive and repetitive violations.

Finally, the insanity and mystique surrounding UNC athletes will cease.

Better to let U.N. negotiate Iran deal

Let the United Nations and other world powers negotiate the deal without us. Then, we’ll be free to monitor Iran’s nuclear activity unencumbered.

If we can prove illegal activity, and present that proof to the world, we can then call for appropriate action to be taken by others, as well as us, whatever that may be.

Nuclear missions of Israel, Iran differ

The reason the Israeli nukes were not mentioned in the Iranian agreement is because Israel has never used its nuclear capabilities to threaten another country, as Iran has.

The difference between the Israeli nuclear program and the Iranian objective is that Israel has no plan to nuke Iran.

Iran continues to describe Israel as a “one bomb country.” Funny how this fact slipped through this article’s careful analysis.

Inspired by Carter, and not the Clintons

He has shown how a former president should act, and he and his wife have shown what a foundation can and should do.

Compare that to Bill Clinton and his wife and you see the best and worst of human behavior.

Vote on substance, not on gut feeling

About a year ago I spoke to a large group of high school students. I asked them about a rival school.

The response: “We do not like them.” I quickly realized they had no real knowledge of the school or its students.

I heard the same reasoning recently from an acquaintance about Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, and Ted Cruz: “Just don’t like him.”

My fear is that we will elect a president based entirely on “just don’t like him.”

So grateful for all the camp counselors

Thank you to all the dedicated summer camp counselors who have committed their time, positive energy, integrity and creativity to the children in our community this summer!

This story was originally published August 22, 2015 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 08.23.15."