Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 11.30.15

Schools on west, east side still suffering

Twenty years ago my neighbors on the east side of Charlotte were moving to Union and Cabarrus counties to avoid sending their children to Garinger High School.

Yet, after all those years it looks as if our educators have accomplished little.

How long does it take to turn around a school?

This mad endeavor for diversity is ruining our schools. And it has certainly done little to help the east and west sides of Charlotte.

New birth center brings mixed feelings

This article stirred up a mixture of emotions.

As an obstetrician I have to agree with midwife Fransen who said: “I finally came to the conclusion that birth isn’t that safe. The only reason it is is because of modern obstetrics. Doctors have made it a lot safer than it was before.”

Although I continue to believe a hospital is the safest place to have a baby, I realize there are couples who will seek out a setting other than a hospital.

I applaud Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center’s collaboration with this center to provide as safe an alternative as possible.

Undocumented take jobs, suppress wages

We all feel sorry for illegal immigrants trying to do better for their families here in America.

The problem is they are taking jobs from Americans.

If employers were unable to hire Americans at low wages they would have to offer higher wages to get the help they need to run their business.

We now have way too many people getting food stamps and welfare. They need to be working.

Gov. McCrory blinded by politics of fear

I am bothered by Gov. Pat McCrory’s recent statements about Syrian refugees entering North Carolina.

The ages-long American tradition of welcoming refugees is spelled out on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The governor and other leaders should be guided by these deep-rooted values of our beloved nation, not by the shortsighted politics of fear and hatred.

Don’t underestimate danger some pose

The president has said of his critics: “Apparently, they’re scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America as part of our tradition of compassion.”

I did three tours in Vietnam and I have seen and survived the damage and slaughter women and children can do, widowed, orphaned or not.

And remember, one of those who triggered a suicide vest in Paris was a woman.

Rest of world sees us as paranoid

What happened to America? We are scared to help refugees because a couple might be ISIS.

Americans kill each other at a rate terrorists can only dream about.

This paranoia that has gripped the country is exactly what the terrorists want. The world is laughing at the United States.

We talk the talk, but can’t walk the walk.

Lake Norman can’t afford I-77 tolls

The N.C. Department of Transportation czars think the Lake Norman Area is paved with gold streets and every home has boatloads of money in it.

Not all Lake Norman people are rich. They are nurses, teachers, firemen and police and small business people to name a few. These middle-class people who have to go to work each day cannot afford $20 a day, $100 a week on tolls.

Immigrants help pay for our retirement

I don’t understand the outrage over immigrants “stealing” someone else’s Social Security number. As underpaid as they are, they will still be contributing to Social Security and our retirement, but are themselves not ever able to get any benefit.

If we have enough people doing this, perhaps Social Security will never have any problems.

This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 11.30.15."