Mark Robinson shouldn’t have to resign for not being politically correct

PC speech

It is so disconcerting as I age to see the rapid decline of freedom in our world today. Only the speech that agrees with the politically correct narrative is accepted. Mandates that overreach free will today are tyrannical and un-American. Even the N.C. lieutenant governor is not allowed to voice his religious beliefs at a church without people calling for his resignation. This is not the America that I grew up in and love. Let freedom ring!

Edie Szyperski, Raleigh

Public employees

Regarding “Police, firefighters threaten legal action over vaccine rules,” (Oct. 15):

So now if we call 911, do we have to ask them to send only those officers who have been vaccinated? I certainly do not want any police in my home if they could be carrying the COVID-19 virus.

Shall we thank them for their (lack of) service now? The unvaccinated officers, firefighters and city workers who are suing the city should all resign. They do not want to protect and serve. They have nothing but contempt for the rest of us.

Donald Mathews, Raleigh

NC budget

As a state employee, I’m writing to express my frustration with the General Assembly and governor over the budget process. In times of austerity I understand that state workers may not receive a cost-of-living raise. No one gets into public service to get rich.

But right now, we have a historic surplus and some in the legislature want to use that to give tax cuts to corporations instead of rewarding state workers and teachers, some of whom haven’t seen a cost-of-living adjustment in three years.

Many teachers and state workers literally put their life on the line to continue working during the pandemic. It is honestly unconscionable that our state refuses to recognize these contributions. Meanwhile, the cost of living in Raleigh and the surrounding area has skyrocketed. State workers can’t even afford to live in the capital city.

It’s shameful. If this continues, North Carolina will continue to lose great talent.

Emily Clinkhammer, Raleigh

NC healthcare

Thankfully, the N.C. General Assembly and governor are now showing us that they are capable of working together for the benefit of our state.

We are one of only 12 states who haven’t expanded Medicaid. This is an unacceptable embarrassment. The benefits of expansion are well known. This expanded coverage has been proven (many times over) to save lives and inject much needed funds into our economy, especially our hospital and healthcare providers.

We have all seen the horrors of how COVID has exposed the weaknesses in our healthcare system. Medicaid expansion means health coverage for about half a million people across the state. Even the Republican-voting mountain counties realize we are losing lives and money because we have yet to expand Medicaid.

Our hospitals and health care providers are wearily providing millions in uncompensated care. What exactly are the reasons for not expanding Medicaid in North Carolina?

Susan Cohen, Durham

Written in stone

Regarding “Commentary: Irving skips COVID jab and benches himself — for now,” (Oct. 14):

Kyrie Irving and other anti-vaxxers should go to a cemetery and see all the infant graves from before the 1950s-’60s. After that, there are hardly any. That’s when people started vaccinating their kids. If anti-vaxxers are still unsure, the answer is there, literally written in stone.

M. B. Hardy, Raleigh

UNC and Hussman

I stand in support of Ned Barnett’s Oct. 14 opinion that the UNC school of journalism should part ways with Walter Hussman Jr.

I don’t know Hussman, but based on my experience as a former PBS network correspondent I believe journalism schools must be free of any donor, dean or professor who might put their right thumb or their left thumb on the scale.

Journalism students arrive as a clean slate. At a time when journalism has been poisoned by politicization, future reporters, editors, news writers, and photojournalists must know how to recognize and report the truth — free of any hint of bias. If they ultimately choose to dance with a devil, left wing or right wing, at least they will know the difference between fact and fiction.

Robert Friedman, Apex

School rankings

Regarding “Which Triangle schools made top 10 of US News ranking for NC?” (Oct. 14):

I understand that it’s human to categorize, rank and reduce complex things into simpler ones, but I’d hope that people would recognize that the U.S. News & World Report rankings of elementary schools, much less colleges, is an arbitrary system that serves no legitimate purpose. There is no basis for the esteem these rankings have been given since they started ranking colleges in the ‘80s.

I vote we give the teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers, coaches, bus drivers, nurses, administrators, office staff, parents, and most importantly the students, more respect and stop collectively buying into the fiction that a high-quality learning environment is far more nuanced than the U.S. News rankings would like us to believe.

Please, for the sake of the legitimacy of our country’s education system, stop publishing their report.

Seth Kirsch, Raleigh