UNC jobs are just a way to line the pockets of NC GOP leadership’s friends

UNC consultants

Regarding “Interim UNC System leaders are receiving thousands a month,” (Feb. 20):

It appears Sen. Phil Berger’s former chief of staff, Jim Blaine, doesn’t apply the same fiscal conservatism in his consulting position as he espoused in his public career. The truth is that Blaine doesn’t have any expertise in education that would justify a monthly salary of $15,000.

These consulting positions appear to be nothing more than an opportunity to line pockets of the Republican leadership’s friends, which Blaine gladly accepted. The public should demand an accounting of the work performed by Blaine and other consultants that would justify over $1 million in consulting fees since January 2019.

Blaine’s fiscal conservatism only applies when it doesn’t impact his pocketbook. As the old saying goes: “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Frank Harris, Raleigh

Silent Sam

Regarding “Why Silent Sam should stand again,” (Feb. 24 Opinion):

Op-ed writer Edwin Yoder misses the entire point. There was a civil war and the South lost. Letting any referents to the South’s military campaign remain in prominent public view should not be allowed on principal.

Why the federal government allowed a plethora of catalog statues to be erected in the South in the 1900s was a failure in judgment. A museum of these artifacts would be OK by me, but most are not museum-worthy art.

Another option would be to sell them to people who want to decorate their private garden with them. The plinths they stand on are usually worth far more than the cheap statues, so let the plinths stay and erect upon them monuments that represent all Americans.

Mark Dickey, Raleigh

Preserve the statue

I agree with Edwin Yoder about Silent Sam. In this area we hear mostly from UNC students and professors who support its removal. The statue was sculpted by one of the leading sculptors of our country and beautifully demonstrates a poor Southern soldier with books at his feet, looking into the distance of what life awaits him in the South. We should preserve this statue for what it tells us about the horror of war and its aftermath.

Eunice M. Brock, Chapel Hill

Symbol of racism

We have many fitting monuments to those who tragically lost their lives defending slavery, monuments that are not endangered by racial animus. There are battlefields and cemeteries all over the South, including Bentonville, Appomattox and Gettysburg, and a visit to any of these is emotional and inspiring. But we don’t need the monument of a soldier guarding the entrance of our state university, there to remind African-American students that they were not always welcomed as they are today.

John May, Chapel Hill

UNC to blame

I understand the passion and issues that make decisions regarding Silent Sam’s fate difficult. However, the UNC administration handled this situation in the worst possible way by allowing a mob to make the decision. I hope we can all agree that under no circumstance is anarchy acceptable.

Don Paschal, Raleigh

Presidential primary

Ugh! I’m old enough that there is a good chance this will be my last presidential election. And it looks like I may have to choose between two angry, shouting, narcissistic men. One is an existential threat to the republic, while the other is living out his adolescent dream of leading a revolution. I’ll vote for the latter if required, but I’m pretty sure he’ll lose.

How did it come to this? Actually, I know: presidential primaries. The first nominations determined by primaries were in 1964 and 1972. Remember how those worked out?

Why should a political party let the general public, most of whom have no abiding interest in politics, have a determining role in selecting candidates to represent the party? Especially if people not affiliated with the party can vote. It’s too late for me to see this silly system reformed out of existence, but do we we have to suffer this badly?

Lawrence Evans, Durham

Frugal millennials

Regarding “Frugal millennials could make Fed’s job harder,” (Feb. 23):

Wow, this article portends a bleak future. Apparently it’s because the young folks among us are saving too much money. And that’s a bad thing?

For years, decades even, we have been instructed to save more. Economists have warned us repeatedly that other advanced countries are way better at saving their money than are the American people.

The other interesting point was that many young people have so much income they can afford to save. We always hear about cash-strapped young folks. Well, which is it? Are young people rolling in dough or are they scraping by?

Robert Peele, Rocky Mount