Gas-guzzling gluttons
I agree with John Grooms' thoughts on our failure to reduce our dependence on oil and the resulting poor air quality ("Every Guzzler for Himself," Aug. 10). The thing that frustrates me and pisses me off is the Bush administration's failure to "demand" that we sacrifice. Our men and women in Iraq are (sacrificing), getting their asses killed, and we sit over here and whine when gas goes up 10 cents and SUVs only get larger. (I wish gasoline prices would hit $10 per gallon.)
The American auto industry does nothing to invest in hybrid technology, letting the Japanese do the dirty work, and Ford, GMC, etc., still can't see why they keep losing market share to foreign auto producers. We have the capacity to completely wean ourselves of foreign oil and let the Middle East oil dry up and, as you say, cut off the "TIT" that feeds (directly or indirectly) the terrorist fuckers. We won't, because we are too greedy and pathetic.
-- Bill Herrington, Charlotte
Driver's license redux
In order to obtain a driver's license or state issued ID in North Carolina, applicants must show two proofs of identity. The court documents Tara Servatius mentioned in her response to my letter last week can serve as one proof, but applicants still need a second one. It is virtually impossible for undocumented immigrants to provide any of the other accepted forms of identification. Those include unexpired passports with valid visa; US or Canadian birth certificates; a certified marriage license from the US, Canada or Puerto Rico (to get married in NC you need photo I.D. and Social Security number), unexpired US military I.D., etc.
I work directly with the Latino community and know for a fact that hundreds of undocumented immigrants with ITIN numbers have been turned away at the DMV. These people are not just losing their privilege to drive, but they are walking around with no valid form of identification. This makes it incredibly difficult for them to rent apartments, open bank accounts or even enter nightclubs.
Our state benefits from the economic, social and cultural contributions of immigrants, but it will not even grant them something as basic as the right to an identity. Is that fair?
-- Ailen Jardines, Charlotte