The Readers' Forum: Wednesday letters

Being penalized

While President Obama is more worried about Warren Buffet's secretary, I am more worried about people in my age bracket — over 70 — who are depending on interest income to help with expenses. I saved my entire life — bought nothing extravagant ever — and now am earning next to zero in interest. I am being penalized at a time when I and many, many others are the most vulnerable. We do not have an outside income to depend on.

Now that we know that the Fed will not raise interest rates for a couple more years, then the answer is for the economy to be brought back to life. And since we know what policies don't work, we must elect a president who will try a different solution. And we know that isn't the one now sitting in the White House.

KAY ANDERSON

Winston-Salem

Pipeline evaluation

Those who would criticize the Obama administration for failing to approve the Keystone XL pipeline by the Feb. 21 deadline set forth by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives need to get their information from someone other than lying Republican politicians and Fox News.

The first proposed route of the pipeline was not approved by the Republican governor of Nebraska, and current plans have moved most of the pipeline east by about 200 miles, but it still crosses areas overlying the Ogallala aquifer, the main water source for the most productive farmlands on the planet.

The Republicans would have apparently been quite comfortable approving this project without first ensuring that appropriate and effective risk-mitigation procedures are in place and that even the worst catastrophe with the pipeline would not have jeopardized our country's breadbasket. The Republicans knew full well that the pipeline evaluation could not be completed this quickly and that they could seize upon the failure to approve it as an apparent sign of the Obama administration's lack of concern for decreasing dependence on foreign oil and indifference to the thousands of jobs that the project would create.

The Republicans approach this issue as they do most everything: Lie, lie loudly, and lie consistently.

JAMES McGRATH

Yadkinville

Bob Timberlake

What a fine piece of writing penned by Richard Craver as the Journal recognized the 75th birthday of Bob Timberlake ("At 75, Timberlake still full of designs," Jan. 22). Since I was quoted in the article, I have a postscript I would like to share.

I once wrote Timberlake with the observation that his signature quill reminded me of a quote from Mother Teresa: "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Whenever I see Timberlake's logo imprinted on his work, I am reminded that we are each a little quill in the hand of God, who is writing a love letter to the world. We all bear His imprint.

Timberlake stated in the article that "People seem to sense there's something different about my work. I believe they see the love and affection that's poured into it." I believe that what we see in and all around Timberlake and his work is just that — the love and affection poured into him and expressed through him.

No wonder we love to hang out in his orb — the Author of Life writing to us in and through the being we call Bob Timberlake. No wonder his life has such a magnetic appeal.

JOYCE WHITE

Lexington

Insensitive

In the past three months, there has been a lot of talk in the media about Coach Joe Paterno's involvement in the infamous Penn State scandal. As soon as all of this unfolded in early November 2011, random, ignorant people who had never heard of Paterno quickly jumped on the bandwagon accusing him of being a horrible man. Not once did Paterno do anything wrong; in fact, he did everything right.

Because of the horrible publicity that Penn State had been receiving, it quickly fired Paterno. His lung cancer had worsened, and he then passed in late January. On the day after, the Journal had the front-page headline, "Fallen football legend, 85, dies" (Jan. 23). How insensitive and rude can you be? What would you write if Duke University's Coach Mike Krzyzewski or UNC Chapel Hill's Coach Roy Williams had passed away? Would you not write "Tragic loss mourned by thousands"?

With all of the hatred that has been created about Paterno, many say that he died from a broken heart, when in fact he was just as happy as when he was coaching football. JoePa wasn't just one of the best coaches college football has seen, he was also a man of great honor who was dedicated to the students of Pennsylvania State University.

MAX HODGE

Pfafftown