In last Sunday’s paper (Oct. 21), I saw two disturbing letters. One was anti-capitalist and the other was anti-Israel. Both are positions taken by radical leftists, and are in direct – even violent – opposition to America’s true values.

One writer said “The trouble with capitalism is capital.” Marxists want a regime under which no one could accumulate their earnings into “capital,” because that would not be fair to people who spend rather than accumulate, and thus end up with little or no “capital.” Besides, no one should receive an income which is high enough to allow accumulation into “capital.” All should be equal, right?

The other letter attacks U.S. military aid to Israel because it “goes against U.S, law as the weapons have been used extensively against civilians” and “permits actions that defy international law.” What “U.S. law”? What “international law”? These weapons have been used against people who, though dressed in civilian clothes rather than military uniforms, are organized fighters who try to kill as many Israelis (military and civilian) as possible. Of course, international law has been twisted around against Israel by the anti-Semites. What international law forbids a country from killing gangs of terrorists which try to kill its citizens?

J. E. Williams

Carrboro

Consensus builder

As the superintendent of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools from 1992 to 2011, I had the pleasure of knowing Valerie Foushee on both a personal and professional level.

She is a person of the highest moral character. Her strong family values are evident in how she and her husband raised their two sons and in her active involvement in her church. Her work ethic and persistence resulted in a successful career with the Chapel Hill Police Department.

Valerie served on the Board of Education for seven years, including two years as chair. She was a strong advocate for quality schools while holding all parties accountable for results. Student achievement steadily improved. Careful planning resulted in energy-efficient schools being constructed in time to keep up with student growth.

After Valerie was elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners in 2004, she reinforced her reputation as an elected official who does her homework, listens to all sides of issues, and casts well-reasoned votes.

Valerie recognizes the need for a strong local economy and healthy tax base in order to provide necessary governmental services while holding tax rates down.

Valerie Foushee is a consensus builder who can get things done in Raleigh. House District 50 will be well represented in the General Assembly by Valerie Foushee.

Neil Pedersen

Chapel Hill

The clear choice

As Election Day approaches, one of the most critical decisions we will make is who will represent us in House District 50. The only answer is Valerie Foushee.

Valerie has been a tireless advocate for education and economic development. She has served on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board and Orange County commissioners. She has worked to address community issues like homelessness and domestic violence. She cares deeply about our community and will use her voice to protect our rights and improve our state. She is a dedicated public servant who spent more than 20 years working for the Police Department. Valerie is the clear choice for voters who want to see North Carolina get back on track as a national leader in education.

Please join me in voting for Valerie Foushee.

Emily Adams

Efland

One brave senator

Last Sunday, we lost former U.S. Sen. George McGovern. Although many will recall his disastrous 1972 loss to Richard Nixon and his subsequent leadership in getting us out of Vietnam, his truly lasting legacy will be his war on hunger and malnutrition.

In 1977, McGovern’s Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs published Dietary Goals for the United States, a precursor to today’s Dietary Guidelines. It marked the first time that a U.S. government document recommended reduced meat consumption.

The meat industry forced the committee to destroy all copies of the report and to remove the offending recommendation from a new edition. It then abolished the committee, voted McGovern out of office, and warned government bureaucrats never to challenge meat consumption again. (Food Politics by Marion Nestle, 2007).

Yet, after 35 years of studies linking meat consumption with elevated risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other killer diseases, the MyPlate icon, representing USDA’s current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, recommends vegetables, fruits, and grains, but never mentions meat, and shunts dairy off to one side. ( choosemyplate.gov/).

And it all started with one brave senator from South Dakota.

Colin Barnett

Chapel Hill

A Fourth Reich

My letter is in response to Ms. Libbus’s thoughtful letter with regard to aid to Israel (CHN, Oct. 21, bit.ly/S0p189).

I, as an American born in Austria, learned my lessons from WWII, and right now, we are witnessing a Fourth Reich surrounding Israel – Hezbollah, Hamas, Syrian/Lebanon, and Iran.

But more to the point, U.S. aid has helped Israel in the following ways: She is at the forefront of stem-cell research; she invented first hydrogen car, and a new vaccine developed to halt the spread of cancer; a device which gives paralyzed people a chance to walk; the cell phone and the Intel Pentium chip were developed in Israel.

Israel was the first nation to develop a solar-powered electricity plant, here in America, in the Mojave Desert. She has the largest number of small companies listed on NASDAQ, and is only second behind the U.S. in venture capital investment. Israel designed the most impenetrable flight security in the world, including a blueprint for thwarting terrorist attack while airborne – all of which she shares with the U.S. This is a small list of all her accomplishments while fighting wars with its enemies seeking its destruction; therefore, Israel must spend more per capita for its protection than any other nation in the world!

Only a fascist would have a reason to abandon Israel by voting to withdraw aid to her, for our investment is rewarded many times over:

And, we will never abandon a country that was formed in the ashes from the Holocaust, an event the world turned their backs on.

Rene’ Paul de la Varre

Chapel Hill