Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 02.16.16

GOP is undermining our Constitution

Justice Scalia’s death has exposed yet another Republican attempt to deny Americans the benefits of our Constitution. They have already announced they will block any nomination to the Supreme Court. This is just another act to undermine the document they claim to love.

Their consistent acts to shut down the government and deny America the benefits of Our Constitution are at best irresponsible.

I consider it treason to actively prevent the due processes guaranteed in the Constitution.

I’ll shed no tears for Scalia’s passing

I find it impossible to mourn the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, for in my mind he is as responsible as any single individual for the regrettable polarization America suffers today.

I-77 toll lanes mean years of suffering

While former Gov. Martin makes some good points, there was ample time for all involved to stop this ill-conceived project before the contract was signed.

I and many others have objected strongly for years in writing, at meetings and face to face with state and local politicians, to no avail.

It is my belief that Cintra will never finish the project much less operate it for 50 years, which is probably a good thing. Unfortunately, we Lake Norman residents will have to suffer through the consequences of this DOT disaster.

We should study Atlanta’s freeways

I was raised in Atlanta and saw the completion of I-285. It has been interesting to watch Charlotte make the same mistakes with I-485 as Atlanta did in the 1960s.

They designed the first legs without accounting for growth and had to add more lanes. Have any of the Charlotte developers or designers looked at this as an analogy?

Resegregation is not CMS’ main problem

Everything in this country continues to revolve around race. Busing was used to put more blacks in white schools to make things equal. Now in Charlotte after all the years of busing and population shifts 53 percent of minority students attend high-poverty schools which have become 90 percent non-white.

This is not the problem. The real problem is liberal social engineering, starting with the Great Society under President Lyndon Johnson.

CMS’ main goal is to educate children

Unless and until anyone even remotely suggests how to break concentrations of poverty, skepticism will grow, especially where some in our community very loudly pine for a return of Swann-like busing.

These “student assignment goals” frame the ultimate mission of CMS, to educate every child to the pinnacle of their potential while preparing them for the steps beyond.

Finally, on some level are you not saying that low-income parents are incapable or unwilling to educate their children? If so, how will or can student assignment provide a cure?

No to busing, yes to parent involvement

I’ve said this before – no busing period! Get the parents motivated first. Require parent involvement, if possible, in the classroom six hours a week.

Don’t single blacks out for ‘weed’ arrests

CMPD Chief Kerr Putney would like the public and particularly blacks to believe that marijuana arrests don’t necessarily equate with race.

Spokesman Rob Tufano states the department doesn’t have a policy on who gets arrested or a citation, but that’s left to the officer’s discretion. There’s the problem!

Set a policy that says for less than ounce, everyone gets a citation or arrested regardless of their race or neighborhood.

Most people don’t mind more policing in high crime areas, but don’t single out blacks for petty crimes because of where they live.

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 02.16.16."