Are these people on Capitol Hill in grade school? They’re a disgrace. | Opinion
Bad behavior
It’s a disgrace to our democracy to have a sitting senator challenge a labor union president to fisticuffs during a hearing. The same day an elected official supposedly “kidney punched” another as they passed in a hall. Are these people in grade school? Most every voter in our country has some level of mistrust in any recent regime, but this is getting out of hand. Whatever happened to civility and decorum in government? Unless your profession is boxing, security or law enforcement there should never be an occasion where you engage in physical violence.
Steve Trexler, Raleigh
Mature lawmakers
We used to have a decent two-party system, but now we find ourselves experiencing “I dare you” school-boy politics. The schoolyard decorum is affecting how the country is run. Time for constituents to do their homework and elect mature seasoned politicians who’ll represent them at the national level for the good of the people. Return those with a “disruption agenda” back to their home turf.
George Garcia, Rolesville
An NCDOT fail
Once again NCDOT has created a horror story about to unfold with its new intersection at the Beltline and Wade Avenue. To make the Cary exit the other day I had to cross four or five lanes of traffic merging at high speed. I encourage you not to try this at 5 p.m.
It reminds me of the engineers’ crazy roundabout experiment at NCSU’s Bell Tower, when they were sure the inside lane of a two-lane roundabout could go straight. After 300-plus accidents they finally gave up and made it a single-lane roundabout.
Jarles Alberg, Raleigh
City council
Regarding “Raleigh urged to call for cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war,” (Nov. 15):
Why in the world did the Raleigh City Council discuss a statement on the Gaza conflict? We elect the mayor and council to administer our city, not to opine on foreign relations.
Arthur Powers, Raleigh
Israel conflict
The writer served in the N.C. Senate 1997-2013.
In a Nov. 12 Opinion column reprinted from The Washington Post, Hugh Hewitt pointed out the tragedy taking place in Israel/Palestine. Hamas is to be cited for such evil, destructive actions. But we must look at the historic roots that led to the creation of Hamas: following pogroms in 1948 Jews across the world immigrated to Palestine and created the State of Israel after bloody conflicts. They forcibly removed 750,000 Palestinians in what is known as the Nakba.
Mass protests in Europe and the Middle East against our policies are ignored by President Biden. We should demand our government to do the right thing: Acknowledge the Palestinian’s right to their homeland, just as we do Israeli’s.
Ellie Kinnaird, Chapel Hill
Common ground
Regarding “At energy conference, Cooper calls on businesses to rally against GOP policies,” (Nov. 3):
The writer is an advocate for Environment North Carolina.
When I hear that Republican and Democratic voters see clean energy from different angles, I can’t help but think about how much we have in common. According to a recent Pew Research poll, solid majorities in both parties support expanding wind and solar power. A recent Conservatives for Clean Energy poll found 62.6% of voters believe renewable energy should be expanded in the state. We’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to our clean energy potential. With a united front, we can send a strong message that supporting clean energy is the right thing to do, regardless of party.
Emily Mason, Boone
Time change
Once again the U.S. House failed to get off their collective keisters to approve the Sunshine Protection Act. The proposed law would make daylight saving time permanent year-round and eliminate turning back the clocks at a time of year when daylight is already getting shorter. Here’s another possible compromise: extend daylight saving time until the weekend corresponding to the first day of winter. By doing so, each day of standard time will have increasing daylight instead of the other way around. I believe many people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder will benefit. Either way, let’s get ‘er done!
Howard Goodman, Cary
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This story was originally published November 19, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Are these people on Capitol Hill in grade school? They’re a disgrace. | Opinion."