LETTERS
To the Editor:

The Hurlburt-Johnson Friendship House Homeless Shelter in Murphy is celebrating its first year of operation since re-opening in November 2005. We have served 282 homeless men, women and children with a total of 3,945 shelter nights provided! This was only possible because of the generous support of our community. We need to keep the momentum going. All of the tireless volunteers who have remodeled, cooked meals,provided transportation, counseled,

and most of all, donated funds, have made it possible for the only homeless shelter within at least 100 miles to serve people in crisis situations.

Anyone who would like to come by and tour the shelter, please give our manager, Jean Whims, a call at 837-9016. Donations to the Friendship House can be sent to P.O. Box 422, Murphy, NC 28906.

Dana Bius President, Board of Directors To the Editor:

How about that guy, with his hollow apology. And was he genuinely sorry for offending so many people? Nah. He was sorry he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I'm referring of course, to the gentleman(?) from Massachusetts. But then, I suppose many communities have their own John Kerry types. Why, only recently there was a sharing of perceptions in Union County relative to the Catholic whipping boy and of his invention and importation of the devil's brew, with the Industrial Revolution.

In South Carolina in the 1970s, liquor was sold in ABC stores. The liquor-by-the-drink issue was raised in the state legislature when some members introduced legislation permitting restaurants to serve liquor in 2 oz. bottles. Naturally, the preachers holding seats in the South Carolina House reared back and loudly spat forth into shiny brass cuspidors the old grape juice fiction, albeit conveniently omitting the details of the Miracle at Cana, when Jesus changed water to wine and was generously complimented then for holding out the best vintage wine (grape juice?) until last. Nope. It was the work of those doggone Catholics. They were the drinkers in the Palmetto State, and it was all their fault. Right?

As contention dragged on, a reporter with the Columbia, SC newspaper The State did some serious digging, and found that, comparing total

annual liquor sales against total Catholic citizens, every Catholic man, woman and child would have to have drunk 4.8 gallons of liquor per day. And his question was, if Catholics couldn't possibly consume that much, just who was drinking it?

In a related action, one member of the House rose to speak, and he reasoned with the enemies of alcohol. He explained that when liquor was sold by the bottle the state tax commission collected 25¢ on every pint and fifth of a gallon. Indeed, on every bottle regardless of its capacity. And then he told how many millions of dollars the state would collect, 25¢ cents at a time, on every 2 oz. bottle, were the measure to pass. And that was when a certain conversion took place. "Ooh, well you didn't explain itthat way, before!" And that was when millions of little airline bottles flew proudly in formation into South Carolina restaurants. Later, the state would make another change permitting sales by the glassful.

And finally, Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia says of whiskey, in part as follows: "The American colonists brought whiskey to the New World but did not themselves begin to distill it until the early 18th century." The early 18th Century? That was the 1700s, wasn't it? Now, what was that about those later Catholic European arrivals?

Tom McKevitt To the Editor:

We train an enlisted soldier, sailor or marine recruit in 9 to 12 weeks, and then declare him combat ready-sorta. He can march and he can shoot. But he is in no way qualified to be a military planner or field commander. In five years, even if he is commissioned, he will have mastered several skills. But he still won't be a field commander. Yet that's what we are asking of the Iraqis!

Recent data stated that 97 percent of our commissioned officers are college graduates (mostly ROTC or Academy graduates?). That means that 97 percent of our officers spent at least four years in college studying among other things military science before being commissioned as Second Lieutenants.

Promotion from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant in my day required 18-24 months total time-in-grade, Captain 5-7 years (enlisted ranks time equivalent are Staff Sergeant and Sergeant 1st Class), Major 12-15 years (enlisted, Sgt 1st Class and Master Sgt), Lieutenant Colonel 18 plus years (enlisted, Master Sgt and the Super Sergeant ranks), full Colonel and General 18 plus, more likely 20 plus years of military service. In short, one does not field and effective military

force if inexperienced enlisted men and officers lead it. Junior personnel serve to the best of their ability and experience. Senior (Field) command, however, requires senior non-commissioned and commissioned officers; those with many years of military experience. And at best these senior personnel are not gods. Against these facts one asks why can't the Iraqis field and effective army with many senior commanders having a maximum of 3 years of real military experience? A logical, nonbiased answer is "we are NOT dragging our feet!" We are waiting for time to pass to commanders can gain necessary experience.

No rational person wants war. Neither should one fear for his or his family's safety as they go to school, church, work or fly on an airplane, because some group of zealots disapprove of their religion or political views. History has proven, sadly, that war is sometimes required to preserve our freedoms. Such is true today. If those among us who promote and support "cut and run" prevail, our children and grand children will surely suffer. Truman didn't finish the job in North Korea. Now they are a nuclear threat!

Very truly yours,

Richard Fiser