Last week, we reported on a call from gay rights activists urging Amazon not to locate HQ2 in states, like North Carolina, that don’t protect LGBTQ residents from discrimination. Commenter Sarahm responds: “While I agree that is is still important to point out the ways in which HB 2 is hurting the state (beyond discrimination of its citizens, obviously), I think using Amazon as an example of this can be a little dangerous, given the potential negatives of having their new HQ2, their predatory business practices, and the way they treat their workers.”
On the question of whether HQ2 would be good for the Triangle, George Doctoroe writes: “In a logical world, it would make sense for North Carolina to ask Amazon to build ten thousand lower-cost homes in order to help with the disastrous housing-price inflation in the Triangle, should the web conglomerate choose to move here. But in the real world, we live in a corporate oligarchy now.”
In last week’s paper, we talked about the planned extension of I-540 around the southern end of Wake County. Mark Bahner argues that that’s a terrible idea: “It’s a very bad time to do any transportation project that is capital-intensive and long-term. The reason is that computer-driven vehicles will be common within less than a decade, and with computer-driven vehicles will come transportation-as-a-service. Both of these developments will significantly boost the ability of existing roads to handle the movement of people, particularly during peak times.
“Don’t build I-540. Don’t build the Durham-Orange light rail. Instead, think ahead about how to maximize the benefits of autonomous vehicles providing transportation-as-a-service.”
Reacting to news last week that the Department of Environmental Quality signed off on a needed water-use permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Connie Headrick Crawford writes: “This is a very sad time for people who live in the counties that will be impacted by the Atlantic Coastal Pipeline. Even the name of the pipeline is a lie. It doesn’t go near the coast of the Atlantic. Governor Cooper is actually putting the very county he grew up in at risk. This is a horrible shame. After Governor McCrory, I thought Cooper would care more for the people than for Duke Energy. I was so wrong. Look into the people who are still living on bottled water due to Duke Energy’s penny-pinching ways of dumping coal ash in unlined pits. Duke Energy doesn’t give a damn about polluting our natural resources, and obviously neither do the politicians of North Carolina.”
Finally, letter writer Free of PC is super-offended by our review of the movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which we gave two-and-a-half stars: “Sir, I would like to know which writer wrote the movie review?” (That would be Neil Morristhe byline is right there in the review.) “I had the pleasure of seeing this film with my daughter last week. This was a unique and clever film with stupendous acting, directing, and screenwriting. The storyline was easy to follow, and character development was spot on. Look at all the awards it has received.
“What in God’s name is wrong with your movie critic? Was the movie too politically incorrect, thus preventing your writer from giving this movie the five-star review it deserved? Did the language offend? So what! I’ll bet your writer took no offense at the 1987 ‘Piss Christ’ photograph. Yet, the writer states that Martin McDonagh had ‘tonal problems’ (what the hell does that mean?) with the ‘weighty themes’ (what?) and ‘discordant plot.’ Is the writer for real?
“Give me a break! This plot went deep into amazing character studies, and how each was redeemed and exorcised of their negative, destructive thoughts. This review was so typical of a biased critic, feeling offended in some way, perhaps at the nasty language, or thinking the work of art as racist, so he purposely downplays the brilliance of this film.”