Cheers from a former North Carolinian

It's North Carolina party time, as North Carolina easily beat Michigan in Detroit on Monday to reign as 2009 NCAA men's basketball national champs. Hooray Coach Roy Williams and Tar Heel starting five: Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Deon Thompson and of course Tyler Hansbrough! As a former North Carolina resident (1989 to 2007), I'm in “;Blue Heaven”; now despite our global recession. President Barack Obama is your No. 1 fan and correctly predicted your Number Oneness!

Welfare reform would help state budget

I believe the only way to make up for our budget shortfall without taking from our state employees would be to reform welfare. I am a proponent of social services, but many in the system have too long abused this assistance. Some have never really made an effort to get off of welfare. We can reduce the amount of assistance given and a time frame to be able to get assistance. It's mind boggling to see families on welfare driving Escalades with new rims. This is an injustice to those who work hard and are unable to get assistance, but barely scrape by.

Some might argue that reducing the amount welfare recipients receive will not be sufficient in this economic climate, but what about that single parent working two jobs with three kids at home? Or that child who never sees his mom or dad because they both work to make ends meet? If these families can do it, so can they!

I am more than confident we can make up, if not all, most of the state budget shortfall with this proposal.

Enact law against dangerous juveniles

Having known Karen Ertell personally, I was particularly incensed by the callous and cold-blooded crime that took her life in May 2007. I believe that the perpetrator of such a vicious and cruel act should be punished.

I am also aware of the bragging rights of teenage toughs who commit crimes knowing that they can escape full responsibility for their behavior simply because they have not reached the age of majority.

A line has to be drawn. Certainly, one should not escape the consequences of having committed murder because of such calculation. Certainly, our community deserves to be protected from the ravages of such felons.

It is vital to secure passage of HB819, HD2, SD1, also known as “;Karen's Law,”; without delay and to inform the malicious elements of our community that any perpetrator of such heinous acts will be severely punished.

If the Legislature fails to enact Karen's Law, no valuable protection for wayward juveniles will have been maintained, but rather, aggressive predators will have been licensed to exploit and harm the weakest among us.

Summer's coming, time for a change

“;It's their choice to be gay”; was the accusation from the opposition of the civil union legislation during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Indeed, it's a choice we all make. For example, I woke up one morning and decided to be gay for the months of June, July and August because it was summer and warm out and I could wear Speedos with confidence like the gays at the beach; because, as we all know, straight and local guys wouldn't be caught wearing anything but surfer shorts.

When winter came around, because I had heard gays are promiscuous (unlike heterosexuals), I decided to be straight so I could find myself a girlfriend who I could cuddle and be intimate with during the long winter months. And by the time spring came around again, I decided to be bisexual since I could have more opportunities to express my “;spring passions”; with not just one gender but with both to better the odds.

So, there you have it, it's easy to choose to be gay, straight, bisexual ... you just have to decide anytime; it's that simple. Lately, however, I've been thinking, since my sisters always accuse me of never having enough emotional sensitivity like women are known to have, I'm seriously considering taking the necessary steps to transgender from male to female so I might tell my sisters to “;eat their words.”;

Sneak attack hit taxpayers' wallets

Richard Borreca's “;On Politics”; column on Sunday was right on target. The legislators here are not only greedy and selfish but very sneaky. Before the session even started they had their outrageous pay raise planned and passed before us taxpayers ever knew about it. Our military will get a 5.8 percent pay raise this year, which they really deserve and earn. But our lawmakers get a whopping 36 percent raise, which is unheard of during this time of depression. They are as sneaky as the attack on Pearl Harbor was.

This pay raise is a legal extortion of the taxpayers' money. But do these bandits care? No, they are in office to fill their pockets and empty yours.