Trump’s and Vance’s words on immigrants matter. My family knows that well. | Opinion
My grandparents, Perla and Herschel Goldberg, were naturalized citizens of France. Herschel fought in the French army.
When the Nazis took over the country, Perla and Herschel were stripped of their French citizenship and deported to Auschwitz, where they died. My mother was a hidden child and survived the war.
JD Vance blithely denies the rights of immigrants when he calls people with legal status “illegal aliens.” Donald Trump crows about starting mass deportations on the first day of his second term. Words have consequences; these are not simply glib campaign talking points. My family is testament to that.
Andrew Geller, Durham
Mark Robinson
The most recent revelations concerning Mark Robinson come as no surprise to me. He has repeatedly and quite clearly shown he views women as second-class citizens. This man is every bit as dangerous as Donald Trump and should not ever be given the power to make decisions about women’s bodies. I hope all North Carolinians will now see this man for the misogynistic hypocrite he is.
Brandie Davis, Smithfield
Gasoline prices
The author is Professor of Economics Emeritus, North Carolina State University
In spite of the alleged prominence of corporate greed and price gouging, gasoline prices continue their persistent decline. This paradox is best explained by Adam Smith’s famous Invisible Hand analogy. Even if each individual seller seeks the highest price (maximum greed), if sellers collectively supply more gasoline than buyers demand, competition will force prices to fall, as if by an Invisible Hand.
Are Presidential candidates and voters willing and able to learn?
Thomas Grennes, Raleigh
Trump threats
Only nine weeks after Trump was shot at his Pennsylvania rally and he is now being threatened again. The gun violence in this country is too common. No matter your political view or whom you support, I think we can all agree that there should be stricter gun laws in place. Nobody should have to fear being hunted down with a gun by another citizen.
Olivia McKiernan, Clayton
Liberalism
In reply to the Sept. 15 letter writer who equated liberalism with fascism, I guess they never heard the saying if fascism comes to America it will come as a cross wrapped in a flag. I would contend that Christian nationalism and white supremacy (sometimes they are together) represent a far greater threat to American democracy. Liberalism gaves us the New Deal, the Civil Rights Act, voting rights, Medicare, FDA, SEC, and many other things.
Maybe that writer should read Project 2025 and see whether they would arrive at the same conclusion.
Henry Jarrett, Raleigh
Housing tension
Thank you for your Sept. 15 opinion piece relating to building industry. There is clearly not enough discussion in the public sphere regarding two contradictory forces that are occurring the industry that has a great impact on residential development.
I do not believe the general public or even residential real estate professionals realize there is a conflict between the political pressure of reducing building costs as to produce lower cost housing and international, Federal, State and Local regulatory forces that impact building costs.
Lewis Zwick, Mint Hill
Raleigh route
Kudos to Go Raleigh bus service for launching Route 9 along the Hillsborough Street corridor. With 15 minute frequency, it exemplifies what public transportation should be. Now, if frequency of service along some of its other routes could be similarly increased, Raleigh residents will begin to run out of excuses for not using the service instead of driving everywhere and complaining about traffic congestion
Lyle Adley-Warrick, Raleigh
Citizenship
The statewide ballot includes an unnecessary constitutional amendment seeking to clarify that only citizens can vote. The amendment builds on unfounded anti-immigrant sentiment that non-citizens are committing widespread voter fraud. Existing state law makes it illegal for non-citizens to vote. Therefore, the proposed constitutional amendment points to a non-existent problem.
Jennifer McMillan Rubin, Durham