8/12 Letters: AG office cuts reminiscent of other hits against Democrats

Regarding “Cuts to A.G will hurt N.C” (Aug. 4): This editorial accurately cites the Republicans in the N.C. state legislature for their arbitrary and capricious cut of $10 million from the attorney general’s office. It is apparent this reduction in funds was made for no other reason than because Josh Stein had the audacity to win the AG race as a Democrat.

The editorial did not mention, however, that what happened to Josh Stein is part of a larger pattern of Republicans punishing Democratic office-holders for winning their election over Republican opponents. For example, Republicans have done their level best to strip away Gov. Roy Cooper’s powers and reduce personnel under his authority. Secondly, some Republican state legislators are now going after Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, threatening to impeach her on blatantly trumped-up charges. But what it’s really about is very simple: Her “crime” is she is a Democrat.

N.C. Republicans, with a veto-proof majority in the legislature, are running roughshod over the few Democratic state office holders, making it as difficult as possible for them to effectively carry out their responsibilities. This kind of partisanship should have no place in state government.

Afghanistan ‘graveyard of empires’

I would like to thank Ned Barnett for “Rep. Jones pushes for an end to America’s longest war” (Aug. 6) on my efforts to end the war in Afghanistan. America has lost 2,216 service members in Afghanistan and spent roughly $800 billion. Every year we lose more American lives and waste tens of billions of additional taxpayer dollars. All to continue the longest war in our nation’s history, with no strategic endpoint in sight, much less a clear plan for how to achieve it.

Meanwhile, congressional leadership in Washington sits on the sidelines, refusing to allow a debate and a vote on the matter. The courageous men and women who put their lives on the line for this country, and the taxpayers who pay the bills, deserve better. As I stressed in a recent letter to President Donald Trump: Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. How many more men, women and tax dollars must we lose before we learn our lesson?

Redistricting solutions

Redistricting offers new design challenges. Why not exclude incumbency bias and minimize past errors? Empanel software experts from business and academia to objectify equal-population areas with regional similarities. Keep the stooges away from fixing inputs, thus promoting collective intelligence.

This story was originally published August 11, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "8/12 Letters: AG office cuts reminiscent of other hits against Democrats."