… Why we need NAFTA

Trade with countries is a good thing. But the NAFTA — like TTP, TTIP and others — is a Trojan horse designed as “free trade” agreements. NAFTA is more about political and economic integration with Mexico and Canada. Another step in a world government scheme. Kissinger even said so when it was passed.

NAFTA only represents a loss of sovereignty for the United States and the other countries involved. This article is globalist garbage written by the people responsible for these stupid agreements.

A real, free trade agreement would only involve a single sentence: “Trade between country A and country B will be free and unrestricted by the governments involved.” The NAFTA is literally thousands of pages of regulations.

The only thing “free” about these agreements is the freedom of government bureaucrats to completely regulate the trade. We need to get out of the NAFTA completely.

— Steve Poteat

… Salisbury moving toward leasing Fibrant to Hotwire Communications

When you look at publicly (government/state/municipal) owned infrastructure leased to a private company to provide a service, one doesn’t need to look too far to find success stories.

Locally, we only need to look to the main railroad route through Rowan County. …. This line is owned by the state of North Carolina and dates back to the 1840s, and for much of that time it was leased to the Southern Railway and then Norfolk Southern.

North Carolina Railroad Co. still brings in some good revenue for the state and was a major reason the Piedmont became the industrial powerhouse it was.

On a more municipal level, there is a railroad line that runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. … It’s still owned by the city of Cincinnati, which leases it to Norfolk Southern, bringing in $20 million a year along with a major railroad artery fostering business and industrial growth.

Railroads are different from fiber optic utilities, but both examples are success stories where a government entity funded an infrastructure project, and brings in revenue along with important side benefits. Hopefully a similar partnership between the City and a private company could be just as beneficial.

— Eric Shock

I wish this would allow Fibrant to circumvent the law preventing them from expanding beyond the city limits. I live just a few miles outside of town and really miss the speed and consistency of their internet service. TWC/Spectrum hasn’t been able to come close.

— Jacob Parks

I certainly hope that there are details provided to Fibrant customers about how this will impact our service if it goes through. Will there be any rate changes? Will packages change? Will support still be local? Will I be able to pay my bill at the Salisbury Customer Service Center? What new features and functionality will they add to the current offering?

— Greg Shields

How are we supposed to trust that the people that could not run this successfully have now figured out a good sound way out of the mess that they made?

I would go with Fibrant but they do not offer a package at a price point that I am willing to pay. I do not need all that speed, so why pay for it? … They do offer one that would work for me but I would have to bundle it with another service I do not need.

— Douglas Jacobs

… IDEA Center brings out budding entrepreneurs

Great presentation last night.The list of resources the IDEA Center has planned to make available is comprehensive. I’m surprised it wasn’t in the article, but potential start-ups and entrepreneurs can go to http://rowanideacenter.com/ for news and information. Thank you to everyone involved!

— Chris Coleman

… Bill Stanback dies

Bill Stanback will be sorely missed. He was a man of extraordinary kindness, compassionate civic-mindedness and immense generosity. I was very lucky to have known him and to have been his friend.

— Gregory Shields

I loved this man. He was so wise and generous. I was blessed to have known him.

— Jackie Harris

Our community was blessed to have Bill Stanback, such a kind,benevolent leader who championed what he believed was good for us all. Our prayers are for Nancy and the Stanback family.

— Greg Dunn

Mr. Stanback was a wonderful man. So lucky to have worked for him at Stanback company. He will be missed by so many.

— Mary Jo Bopp

… Public services directors discuss new garbage pickup triumphs, setbacks

I have never seen so much litter and garbage strewn around our city streets as what we now have. Jake Alexander is one of the worst problems, mainly due to dump trucks going to the landfill.

Also, people who rent their home may not know the policies concerning leaving items on the curb. Therefore, we have sofas, chairs, mattresses, commodes, broken tables and old TVs left on the curb for weeks.

If you will ride around the neighborhoods at the end of the month when people are moving out, you can see what I’m talking about.

— Glenda Kearns

… Letter: Does marijuana arrest make sense?

There are so many reasons, both conservative and progressive, for making adult use and possession of cannabis/marijuana legal.

If you are a small-government fiscal conservative, please check out Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition (RAMP), founded by Ann and Bill Lee of Texas. From their website:

“Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition … reforms marijuana laws by working within the GOP to educate and connect with lawmakers, party leadership and grassroots activists.

“We are the voice for all Republicans who oppose the inhumane and unjust practice of imprisoning people for using the cannabis plant. We support efforts to bring marijuana out of the black-market and into safe, legal and regulated use by doctors for compassionate medical care and storefronts for adult recreational use.

“RAMP rejects the myth that in supporting prohibition, conservatives are promoting law and order. We wish to change the laws of prohibition that have caused so much harm to those things conservatives value most, namely individual responsibility, limited government, fiscal responsibility, compassion, and privacy.”

— Ann Twitty Caughran

 While I am in favor of legalization for private use, this guy was 100 miles beyond that. … It is illegal. There are laws, he knew them and did it anyway.

— Charles Showfety

We see and know where the law is on marijuana. We also know that this substance is benign compared tor illegal drugs. … Where is the justice?

— Reginald Brown

I see no reason our tobacco farms couldn’t be converted to grow hemp. Not only would we get a piece of the billions of dollars in revenue enjoyed by states in which it has been legalized, we’d also have a chance to revive our textile industries. After all, it was the cotton companies that originally lobbied to make it illegal, just to eliminate the competition.

— Chris Coleman

… Christine Emba: White Americans, where are you really from?

I only know a little about where my ancestors originated, and it’s hard to tell since my family has been in the South for a long time. My northeastern friends have a bit of an easier time because so many more people there are second generation from the “old country.” Either way, I don’t know why this article would be divisive. It’s pretty interesting.

— Karen Puckett

I’ll bet most of us will not fret for as long as Ms. Emba seems to think we should or hope we will. Just check a box and move on.

If for some unknown reason one follows Ms. Emba’s new tack to its logical conclusion, Native Americans will have to re-identify as Siberian-Americans, for it is Siberia whence they came.

Have we given up on trying to downplay the differences in how we look and focus on what’s inside? I, for one, refuse to concede.

The concept of America as one people is one for which I will fight as long as I have breath and spit in me (and a supply of Pilot pens).

— Bruce LaRue