It is very rare when I write a rebuttal to one of my letters that appeared in The Times. However, I feel it its important to point out what Dave Thomas omitted in his Feb. 15 rebuttal letter, "Use of torture is what separates US from enemies."

Mr. Thomas conveniently left out the main point of my article of Feb. 11, "Officers should do all to protect soldiers." It reads as follows: "If I have an enemy combatant and I feel he would damage the chance of me completing my mission or be a danger to my soldiers if he had information I needed, I would use any and all means to extract that information."

I further stated: "I had much rather eliminate an enemy combatant than to write a letter home to one of my dead soldier's mothers knowing I did not do all I could to protect her son or daughter."

Evidently, Mr. Thomas, the liberals and moderates had rather chance the lives of Americans than make it uncomfortable for the enemy.

The Democratic Senate has passed a bill that outlines what torture can and cannot be used on enemy combatants. It basically states that the only torture that can be used is rough toilet paper. After two weeks of that, bottles of Vaseline are administered quite "liberally" to ease the pain.

To be serious, if you read the bill, you would think it describes more of a punishment for a second-grader than someone who would love to blow you up.

The other day, conservative Republicans walked out of the House of Representatives because Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not bring up the security bill that allows listening to the enemy in foreign telephone calls. The bill expire at midnight Feb. 16.

Her refusal to bring the security bill to the floor for a vote just may endanger the lives of millions of Americans. Evidently, liberals and moderates do not care about the security of Americans as do conservatives.

You bet I am sick of folks like Mr. Thomas who had rather risk the lives of Americans and do not have the intestinal fortitude to make someone uncomfortable to extract information.

Until we, as a nation, realize we are fighting an enemy that has no regard for human life and only understands strength and not weakness, we just might have a chance to win the battle against the most vicious enemy this nation has ever faced.

As far as Sen. John McCain being a prisoner of war for six or seven years and understanding torture, I can only state that he was a prisoner of a different time, a different enemy and a different type of war.
If we listen to liberals and weak moderates to dictate our safety, we are doomed.

Jim Threlkeld
Clarkesville

Problem with illegal immigration is at top
When are we going to admit, or are we ever, that the illegal immigrant problem in this country is our own fault? Now we want to confiscate their cars. Why not take it a step further, since we are going to make this a police state? Why not go after the one that sold them the car or rents the house, or better yet, employs them?

I don't want my children or grandchildren to do the jobs that illegal immigrants do. Do you? (Who says I can't wait until my child graduates so he can go to work in the processing plants?)

We teach our children to strive for more, but someone has to do these jobs. While the economy crumbles around us and we are oversees fighting for Iraq to be free, here we are taxing our police resources and amending our constitution. Why not just find a way to make the process more productive for these people to not be illegal? Maybe because the true problem is, as usual, at the top and not really with the illegal residents at all.

Aren't we just going backward instead of forward? If being illegal is a crime with as many here who are illegal, wouldn't it make more sense to find a solution that would actually work and benefit this country instead of draining all its resources?

Robert Williams
Gainesville

Hall County needs to clean up tax board
I have read with interest the article in your paper on Feb. 19 regarding allegations of payroll padding by the chairman of the Hall County Board of Tax Assessors. It appears this official disregarded his own policy which required at least two members to be present before a meeting could take place.

How is it possible this individual could attend 477 meetings when no one was at the meeting but himself? How can this man say there was no intent to do anything wrong after being on this board for more than 20 years, according to your article? Should he have no known this action was more than questionable? Did he actually feel justified in accepting $47,000 for these one-man meetings?\

Thjwere the other two members doing while all of this was going on? Did these board members simply allow the chairman to run rampant with the payroll without question?

Surely this matter needs investigating and hopefully the Hall County Board of Commissioners will initiate action swiftly. If the allegations prove to be correct, then a resignation or resignations would certainly be appropriate.

My tax bill was up substantially from 2006 to 2007, and I do not want to see my tax dollars going to support this office until a clean-up takes place.

William V. Allison
Gainesville

No excuse for fraud in county's tax office
I have read with interest the articles on gainesvilletimes.com concerning the allegations of padded time sheets in our county tax office. Let us all hope that Lee Darragh and the district attorney's office will act swiftly and impartially to see that these allegations are investigated and if warranted that the offender(s) be prosecuted.

At the very least, Hall County should be reimbursed immediately for the overpayments and Mr. Martin's appointment ended as well. There should be no hint of a cover-up or whitewashing of these allegations made by the former employees.

At first glance one would wonder why the two employees did not speak during their tenure as employees of Hall County. It appears that question is answered in this same article when it states that the board of tax assessors has responsibility over the tax assessor's office. James Cantrell's attempts to intervene were "rebuffed" by the chairman. I guess it would be difficult to tell one's supervising authority that he is out of line and overpaid.

If it was indeed a mistake and the chairman intended to do no wrong, then it should be simple to rectify: Repay the money and resign. There are no excuses for fraud.

William Taylor
Oakwood