Dear Editor: The Democratic majority in the North Carolina Legislature have added surtax to the state income tax. In reality it is a tax on your tax. How does it work? Normally if you and your spouse filed a joint return of $100,000 the tax owed to North Carolina would be $6,787.

I was born on Oct. 1, 1965, at West Valley Hospital in Encino, Calif. I am looking for my birth mother. Here is what I know. My birth mother was married to a dentist. They lived in North Carolina and they were getting a divorce.

Dear Mr. Clarey, I'm writing in response to your article about the Ultimate Comic Challenge at the Idiot Box titled "Deconstructing the funny" [July 29, 2009; by Brian Clarey]. "Annihilating the funny" would have been a more accurate title. As one of the competitors in the show, I was stunned and hurt by a couple of aspects of the piece.

Just wanted to pass on a word of thanks for the stellar review of the PRoJECT PERCoLAToR show last Saturday at the Blind Tiger ["Weider, Holmes impress at the Blind Tiger"; July 22, 2009; by Ryan Snyder].

Good afternoon Brian, I just came across your article titled "The Big Pitch" online [Crashing the Gate; June 3, 2009; by Brian Clarey]. I came across it because I was part of the seminar here in Michigan yesterday. I just wanted to drop a quick line and say I was amazed by the quotes in your article from NC.

Although my humble opinion is that the stadium should somehow be finished, I have reservations about Mr. Prim based on my experience of having been once employed by him ["Lowball to play ball"; by Keith T Barber; June 1, 2009].

Really enjoyed the Ten Best Planets [June 10, 2009; by Brian clarey], however, saturn isnt the only planet with bling. It was recently discovered that Uranus also has rings, although not as spectacular as those of saturn. Interestingly, Uranus rotates sideways on its axis, much like a wheel on the axle of a car.

Dear editor, I enjoyed reading Jordan Green and Ryan Snyders 100 greatest NC songs [May 20, 2009]. But their list was missing one of the most amazing flat pickers around, and that is Tony Rice. Think Doc Watson plus Eddie Van Halen. Hes that awesome! Most of the cool licks I know how to play on guitar I learned from his style.

Hello. Im sure you are getting lots of these but I wanted to comment on the 100 best North Carolina Songs article [May 20, 2009; by Jordan Green and Ryan Snyder]. Isnt Gary Davis From South Carolina? I dont really see Sampson and Delilah as a North Carolina song unless youre referencing Greensboros readiness to tear down old buildings.

Brian, your fluency in what constitutes a hustle is more than a little alarming [Classics: Modern variations on age-old hustles; May 6, 2009; by Brian Clarey]. I believe Bernie Madoff could have used your obvious expertise; certainly your fluency in what passes for the name tags associated with these schemes.